BL  200  .S6  1903 
Softley,  Edward. 
Theism  under  natural  law  a 
related  to  Old  Testament 


Theism  Under  Natural  Law 


As  related  to  Old  Testament  Criticism, 
and  to  the  Theodicy  of  Lux  Mundi 


The  REV.  EDWARD  SOFTLEY,  B.  D. 

Author  of  "Modern  Universalism  and  Materialism"  Etc. 


NEW  YORK 
THOMAS  WHITTAKER 

2  AND  3  BIBLE  HOUSE 


Copyright,  1903 
By  Edward  Softley 


To  my  beloved  people, 
All 

To  whom  I  have  ministered  in  the  bonds 
of  the  Gospel,  especially  to  those  ivhom 
God  has  given  me  as  seals  of  my  Ministry, 
this  testimony  to,  and  defense  of  His 
Holy     Book    is    affectionately    Dedicated. 


Preface 


The  object  of  the  author  has  been,  in  this  treatise, 
to  present  a  chronologically  consecutive  epitome  of 
the  Elements  of  Theism ;  of  their  relation  to  each 
other,  and  to  the  structure  of  the  Bible  ;  and  also  to 
what  is  generally  understood  by  Natural  and  Re- 
vealed Religion. 

This  has  been  the  original  and  primary  object, 
positively  considered  ;  but  a  secondary  object  of  a 
negative  character  has  been  to  place  in  contrast  with 
the  elements  of  Biblical  Theism,  and  with  Orthodox 
Christian  Theology,  that  modern  system  of  doctrine 
sometimes  called  the  "New  Theology,"  or  "Higher 
Criticism,"  as  set  forth  in  "  Lux  Mundi."  On  both 
these  subjects  the  author  desires  to  say  a  few  words. 

In  regard  to  the  book  now  so  well-known;  the 
work  of  Bishop  Gore  and  his  co-essayists.  It  is  the 
work  of  men  who  are  graduates  of  the  venerable 
University  of  Oxford,  who  occupy  the  position  of 
Christian  scholars,  and  who  have  the  status  of  theo- 
logians and  of  clergymen  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  England  !  Alas  !  that  Christianity  and  the  his- 
toric and  venerated  church  of  our  forefathers  should 
be  so  scandalized  !  It  may  be  deemed  presumption 
for  the  writer  thus  to  express  himself,  but,  if  so,  it 

v 


VI  PREFACE 

is  a  presumption  based  upon  a  reasonable  and  a  con- 
fident faith  of  "  God's  Word  written  " ;  and,  because 
of  this,  he  makes  bold  to  express  his  conviction  that 
their  work  is  neither  logically,  nor  Biblically,  nor 
theologically  defensible.  On  the  contrary  he  would 
affirm  his  belief  that  the  theology  so  elaborated 
will,  in  due  time,  be  exploded  as  other  heresies  have 
been,  and  will  have  no  honorable  place  in  history. 
The  names  of  such  men  as  Augustine  and  Chrysos- 
tom,  Usher  and  Jewel,  Latimer  and  Cramner,  Cal- 
vin and  John  Owen,  together  with  Lightfoot  and 
Westcott,  Kyle  and  Spurgeon,  as  members  of  a  noble 
host  of  masters  of  theology,  and  apologists  for 
Christ  and  for  Christianity,  have  an  imperishable 
glory  ;  a  glory  in  which  the  authors  of  "  Lux  Mundi  " 
can  have  no  part  nor  inheritance. 

With  the  same  confidence  may  we  affirm  that  the 
Bible  will  prove  itself,  as  it  has  heretofore  done,  to 
be  still  the  Book  of  God,  and  more  than  worthy  of 
the  absolute,  entire  and  unfaltering  faith  of  believ- 
ing men. 

The  author  desires  further  to  say  that  his  own 
study  of  this  great  subject  has  been,  to  him,  the 
strong  verification  of  such  a  confidence,  and  such  as 
he  cannot  adequately  express. 

Under  such  conditions,  the  result  thereof  is  now 
humbly  offered  for  the  acceptance,  and  candid  con- 
sideration of  all  those  to  whom  the  Bible  is,— yet, — 
"  very  pure,"  and  very  precious. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  I 

Natural  Theology 1 

God  as  Creator. — Intrinsic  evidences  from  God's  Works  in 
Nature. — Relation  of  the  Bible  to  Natural  Theology. — 
Synopsis. 

CHAPTER  II 

Natural  Religion 21 

God  as  Law-Giver,  and  Moral  Governor. — A  Moral  Sequence 
from  Objective  Evidences. — Synopsis. 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Being  of  God,  as  Related  to  His  Moral  Govern- 
ment          44 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Providence  of  God,  as  Related  to  His  Moral  Gov- 
ernment and  to  the  Pantheistic  Doctrine  of  Imma- 
nence in  Creation 60 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Church  of  God,  as  an  Element  of  Theism 81 

Its  Character  and  Origin.— A  Moral  Sequence  from  Man's 
Relation  to  God.— Moral  Elimination. 

CHAPTER  VI 

Sacred  Traditions,  as  an  Element  of  Theism 103 

Synopsis. 

.CHAPTER  VII 
Prophecy  and  the  Prophetic  Office 135 

CHAPTER    VIII 

Dreams,  Visions  and  Revelations 150 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX 
Miracles 174 

CHAPTER  X 
The  Law  of  Conscience,  as  an  Element  of  Theism      .    .197 


APPENDIX.— NOTES 

CHAPTER  I 

Note  (a)     Negative  argument  for  the  personality  of  God  .        .  223 
Note  (b)     Positive  argument  for  the  personality  of  God    .    .      226 

Note  (c)     Evolution  and  Elementary  Theism 242 

Note  (d)     Of  faith  in  God 252 

CHAPTER  II 
Note  (a)     Natural  religion  as  a  subjective  result  of  objective 
evidences,  and  representing  (1)  duty  to  God,  as 
taught,    and   (2)   duty   to   God,    as   done   under 

Natural  Law         ....  272 

Note  (6)     Ontological  argument 279 

Note  (c)     Negative  Argument  for  Monotheism 284 

Note  (d)    Positive  value  of  theistic  evidences  as  addressed  to  a 

moral  agent 291 

Note  (e)     Of  the  knowledge  of  God 300 

CHAPTER  IV 
Note  (a)     The  Providence  of  God 310 

CHAPTER  VI 
Note  («)     Dr.    de   Costa,    the  Church   of  Rome,    and    "Lux 

Mundi  "  on  Tradition 312 

CHAPTER  IX 

Note  («)     Theistic  basis  of  the  credibility  of  miracles    .        .    .  320 

CHAPTER  X 

Note  (a)     Analytical  note  on  Conscience      ....  324 

Note  (b)     The  essential  elements  of  Theism  always  in  evidence  327 

Note  (c)     Moral  obligation  to  seek  God 332 

Note  (tZ)     The  Will  as  related  to  the  Conscience ,    .  339 

Note  (e)     Dr   Martineau  on  intuitional  knowledge  of  God   .    .  348 
Note  (/)     Force  of  Intuitional  and  Moral  evidence,  as  stated 

by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 350 

Note  (g)     Heathen  ignorance,  its  cause  and  character    ....  352 


Theism  Under   Natural   Law 


CHAPTER  I 

NATURAL   THEOLOGY 


The  necessary  basis  and  primary  element  of  God's 
moral  government  of  mankind  is  that  of  knowledge 
of  His  character  and  will.  The  revelation  of  God's 
character  under  natural  law  is  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  His  being,  that  they  may  be  said  to  be 
identified.  For  this  reason,  although  we  enter  upon 
the  consideration  of  God's  moral  government  with 
the  assumption  that  His  being  and  personality  are 
exempt  from  discussion  and  require  neither  proof 
nor  argument,  yet,  the  natural  course  and  order  to 
the  due  presentation  of  the  elements  on  which  His 
moral  government  depend  must  necessarily  include 
some  reference  to  the  personality  of  God,  as  con- 
nected with  the  knowledge  obtainable  concerning 
Him  in  the  works  of  Nature  ;  or,  from  what  is  prop- 
erly termed  Natural  Theology.  In  the  term,  Natural 
Theology,  is  comprehended  all  of  objective  nature, 
as  witness  for  God.  The  appeal  so  made  to  man, 
whether  in  the  evidence  found  in  Creation  itself,  or, 

1 


2  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

as  stated  in  Holy  Writ,  is  an  appeal  to  the  obvious 
fact.  It  is  also  an  appeal  to  the  unaided  senses,  and 
to  each  of  them.  Further  than  this,  it  is  an  appeal 
to  the  collective  and  to  the  individual  evidences ;  to 
the  small  and  to  the  great,  to  the  near  and  to  the 
far  off.  While  the  obvious  facts  are  evidence  suffi- 
cient, and  the  unaided  vision  is  a  sufficient  means  of 
apprehension,  we  are  invited  to  a  closer  and  a  mi- 
nute inspection. 

Our  Lord  points  to  a  microscopic  examination  of 
the  lilies  of  the  field.  God  speaks  to  Job  of  the 
balancing  of  the  clouds.  Instances  are  to  be  found 
in  Holy  Writ,  drawn  from  various  parts  of  this  wide 
and  diversified  field  ;  these  are  but  instances.  If 
the  direct  references  to  Creation  in  the  Bible  are 
numerous,  we  may  truly  say  that  by  indirect  refer- 
ences and  allusions,  it  is  permeated  and  pervaded. 
Most  of  the  manuals  of  Natural  Theology  are  either 
occupied  with  a  special  aspect  of  the  evidence,  or 
contain  but  a  partial  survey  of  the  whole.  Dr. 
Paley  says  that  in  such  a  wide  field  it  is  natural 
that  each  will  choose  some  particular  section  of  the 
evidence,  and  that  he,  himself,  has  chosen  that 
afforded  by  anatomy.  Sir  Wm.  Dawson  (Origin  of 
the  World,  p.  24)  strongly  urges  upon  the  clergy  a 
closer  study  of  nature,  and  laments  a  too  general 
inattention  amongst  theological  students  to  this  sub- 
ject. Dr.  Dawson  also  quotes  Baron  Humboldt  as 
saying  that  the  general  views  of  nature,  contained 
in  the  Bible,  or  to  which  it  tends,  comprise,  and  in 


NATURAL   THEOLOGY  3 

fact  anticipate,  all  that  science  is  able  to  teach  con- 
cerning it.  As  Biblical  Theists  we  are  required  to 
base  our  estimate  of  the  character  and  value  of  Nat- 
ural Theology  on  the  written  and  inspired  Word. 
There  we  find  that  the  written  law  corroborates  the 
unwritten.  Objective  nature  is  regarded  as  mute, 
yet  eloquent  witness  for  God.  In  answer  to  the 
question,  "Have  they  not  heard?"  the  reply  is 
"  Yes,  verily  !  their  sound  is  gone  forth  into  all 
lands,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world" 
(Rom.  10 :  18).  The  works  of  God  in  nature  are  re- 
garded in  Holy  Scripture  as  indubitable  witness  for 
Him.  They  are  elementary  lessons  to  mankind,  as 
we  teach  children  by  object  lessons.  Addressed,  as 
this  evidence  is,  to  responsible  man,  he  is  required  to 
learn  from  it.  As  God's  voice  out  of  the  whirlwind 
to  Job  (ch.  38)  is  an  appeal  to  the  evidence  in  objec- 
tive nature,  so  also  is  the  argument  of  Elihu  (chs. 
32-37).  God  does  not,  however,  allow  the  sufficiency 
of  the  evidence  to  be  a  matter  of  argument ;  He 
visits  the  neglect  of  it  as  criminal,-  "  Because  they 
regard  not  the  works  of  God,  nor  the  operation  of 
His  hands,  He  will  destroy  them  and  not  build  them 
up  "  (Ps.  28  :  5).  So  also  Isaiah  5  :  12,  "  The  harp 
and  the  viol,  the  tabret  and  pipe  and  wine  are  in 
their  feasts ;  but  they  regard  not  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  neither  consider  the  operation  of  His  hands." 
So  his  Providence  and  care  in  the  ordering  of  His 
Creation  is  set  forth  in  evidence  for  man  to  govern 
his  life  by ;  and  man's  reason  is  given,  and  is  re- 


4  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

garded  by  God  as  a  light  to  guide  him,  as  a  moral 
agent,  by  the  objective  evidence  of  His  works  in 
Greation ;  and  he  is  also  expected  and  required  to 
derive  analogical  knowledge  of  God,  as  a  moral  Gov- 
ernor, by  observing  and  studying  the  manifest  laws 
by  which  he  governs  the  physical  universe.  So  Ave 
learn  from  Isaiah  28 :  23  ad  finem  :  "  Give  ye  ear 
and  hear  my  voice;  harken  and  hear  my  speech. 
Doth  the  plowman  plough  all  day  to  sow  ?  Doth 
he  open  and  break  the  clods  of  his  ground  ?  When 
he  doth  make  plain  the  face  thereof  doth  he  not  cast 
abroad  the  fitches  and  scatter  the  cummin  and  cast 
in  the  principal  wheat  and  the  appointed  barley  and 
rye  in  their  places  ?  For  his  God  doth  instruct  him 
to  discretion,  and  doth  teach  him.  For  the  fitches 
are  not  threshed  with  a  threshing  instrument,  neither 
is  a  cart  wheel  turned  about  upon  the  cummin  ;  but 
the  fitches  are  beaten  out  with  a  staff,  and  the  cum- 
min with  a  rod.  Bread  corn  is  bruised  because  he 
will  not  ever  be  threshing  it,  nor  break  it  with  the 
wheel  of  his  cart,  nor  bruise  it  with  his  horsemen. 
This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  who 
is  wise  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working." 

Man's  refusal  to  consider  such  evidence  is 
charged  against  him  (Isaiah  1  :  3). 

By  way  of  antithesis,  it  is  characteristic  of  the 
righteous  that  they  do,  so  reflect  upon,  and  talks 
of  God's  wondrous  works  (Ps.  8  :  9  and  19).  The 
Psalmist  says  (Ps.  19  :  1),  "  The  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  firmament  sheweth  His 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  5 

handiwork."  This  is  a  rational  as  well  as  a  scrip- 
tural statement.  From  the  evidence  so  set  forth 
we  are  open  to  choose  whether  we  will  accept 
as  solution  of  the  origin  of  the  world,  the  specu- 
lative idea  that  claims  philosophy  in  its  support, 
and  asserts  that  this  vast  universe  by  which  we  are 
surrounded,  and  the  wondrous  planet  on  which  we 
dwell,  came  into  their  present  state  of  order,  and 
obedience  to  uniform  laws,  by  a  process  of  atomic 
development  during  an  indefinite  period,  and  which 
may,  or  may  not  leave  room  for  the  action  of  a 
Personal  First  Cause ;  or,  whether  being  content 
with  the  moral  axioms  properly  deducible  from  the 
evidence  found  in  Creation  itself,  we  will  accept 
with  a  simple  but  rational  faith  the  declaration 
with  which  the  Bible  opens  its  message  to  man ; 
"  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens .  and 
the  earth  "  (Gen.  1 :  1).  It  may  be  true,  as  has  been 
said,  that  evolution  as  a  theory  does  not  necessarily 
do  away  with  design  in  Creation  (or  rather  conflict 
with  the  evidence  arising  from  design  in  Creation), 
for  the  existence  and  operation  therein  of  a  Per- 
sonal First  Cause,  but  only  removes  it  farther  back  ; 
it  is  sufficient,  and  apriori  evidence  against  it  that  it 
does  not  harmonize  either  with  Scripture  evidence, 
as  a  whole,  nor  with  its  pervading  characteristics : 
that  is  to  say,  with  the  supernatural,  as  its  dis- 
tinctive and  peculiar  feature  ;  and  it  is  only  because 
clearly  defined  laws  cannot,  by  any  process  of 
reasoning,   be    dissociated    from   a    Personal    Law 


6  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Giver,  and  because  stress  is  laid  by  speculative 
philosophy  upon  the  immanence  of  God  in  Creation, 
that  this  theory,  which  in  the  Theodic}^  of  "Lux 
Mundi "  is  described  as  "  the  higher  Pantheism," 
can  with  any  shew  of  consistency  be  allowed  a 
place  in  Biblical  Theism.  The  name  of  Kichard 
Hooker  will  be  generally  accepted  by  churchmen 
and  theologians,  and  probably  by  all  scholars,  as  a 
sufficient  criterion  of  sound  learning,  piety  and 
good  theology,  and  it  will  be  profitable  here  to 
compare  his  teaching  on  this  subject  with  that 
of  "  Lux  Mundi."  He  traces  the  foundation  of 
Law,  in  its  primary  sense  and  original,  to  the  Per- 
sonality of  God :  this  he  terms,  the  First  Law 
Eternal.  The  Second  Law  Eternal  he  finds  in 
Creation,  as  the  work  of  God's  hands.  In  Creation 
He  gave  to  everything,  by  His  act  and  decree, 
an  immutable  and  eternal  law  for  its  guidance  and 
preservation.  Thus,  logically,  as  well  as  theo- 
logically, the  supreme  agent  is,  so  to  speak,  directly 
seen  in  and  by  the  laws  by  which  Creation  is  gov- 
erned, and  by  which  it  is  sustained  (Hooker,  Eccl. 
Polity,  Yol.  1.,  Book  I,  Chs.  3  and  4).  The  statement 
made  by  Hooker  is  in  harmony  with  the  Law  Eter- 
nal peculiar  to  man  :  his  reason, — given  to  him  dis- 
tinctively as  the  law  or  governing  faculty  of  his 
life ;  it  is  also  consonant  with  the  principle  of 
a  Personal  First  Cause ;  it  is  in  harmony  with  the 
experience  which  godly  men  have  of  a  Personal 
Providence  coming  into  direct  and  intimate  contact 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  7 

with  the  minutest  details  of  their  inner  lives,  and 
personal  history  as  an  actual  fact ;  and,  also,  it 
is  in  harmony  with  all  that  Holy  Scripture  states 
in  reference  and  testimony  to  the  same,  as  a  law 
and  rule  of  God's  government.  The  hypothesis  of 
evolution  is  distinctly  at  variance  with  the  afore- 
said facts  and  experiences.  In  reference  to  Natural 
Theology,  from  the  theistic  and  biblical  standpoint, 
its  primary  aspect  is  the  disclosure  of  the  Divine 
attributes  of  Power,  of  Wisdom,  of  Love,  of  Stead- 
fastness, or  Eternity,  and  of  Paternal  Care.  These 
attributes  are  displayed  in  His  works :  in  the 
heavens  above,  and  in  the  earth  beneath,  and  in  the 
waters  under  the  earth,  all  that  the  eye  of  man  can 
see,  by  natural  vision  or  by  artificial  aid  and  in- 
strumentality. In  the  language  of  Holy  Scripture, 
at  once  natural,  lifelike,  beautiful  and  true :  "  All 
Thy  works  praise  Thee,  O  Lord,  and  Thy  saints 
give  thanks  unto  Thee.  They  shew  the  glory 
of  Thy  Kingdom  and  talk  of  Thy  power  ;  that  Thy 
power,  Thy  glory  and  the  mightiness  of  Thy  king- 
dom might  be  known  unto  men  "  (Ps.  145  :  10,  11, 
12).  How  often  in  Holy  Writ  do  we  find  Jehovah, 
Himself,  referring  to  His  works  as  so  declaring 
him ;  or  His  devout  worshipers  as  meditating  upon 
Him,  and  finding  their  hearts  go  out  in  holy  adora- 
tion and  worship  to  Him  in  such  mediation  !  It  is 
distinctly  to  be  observed  that  if  the  authority  of 
Holy  Scripture  is  an  acknowledged  element  in  the 
evidence  for  Theism  and  for  the  Kevelation  of  God 


8  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

by  His  works,  as  Creator,  then  is  it  a  paramount 
fact  of  Holy  Writ  in  this  connection,  that  the 
transcendence  of  God,  as  Creator,  is  clearly  magni- 
fied in  connection  therewith,  and  His  glorious  per- 
sonality asserted. 

We  are  told,  for  instance,  "  From  heaven  did  the 
Lord  behold  the  earth  that  He  might  hear  the 
mournings  of  such  as  are  in  captivity  and  deliver 
the  children  appointed  unto  death  "  (Ps.  102 :  20). 
Of  His  Providence  and  Care,  it  is  the  general  testi- 
mony of  Holy  Scripture  that  from  heaven  He 
stoops  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  men,  and  that 
He  does  so  with  the  most  intimate  and  pervasive 
sympathy,  as  well  as  efficacious  knowledge  and 
power.  He  instructed  Moses  to  say  to  the  Israel- 
ites that  He  had  seen  all  the  oppression  from  which 
they  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
that  He  had  "come  down  to  deliver  them."  At 
the  passage  of  the  Ked  Sea,  it  was  from  the  Pillar 
of  Fire  and  of  Cloud  that  He  looked  and  troubled 
the  host  of  the  Egyptians.  In  the  further  prosecu- 
tion of  our  enquiries  as  to  the  elements  of  God's 
moral  government,  we  shall  find  abundant  evidence 
confirmatory  of  the  proposition  laid  down  by 
Hooker  that  the  foundation  of  all  law  in  nature  is 
the  eternal  law  of  God's  own  Being ;  and  that,  as 
supreme  agent,  He  is  seen  not  only  in  and  by,  but 
above  and  distinct  from  the  works  of  nature, 
as  transcendent  in  the  distinctive  glory  of  His  own 
inherent  perfection,  set  forth  to  men  "at  sundry 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  9 

times  and  in  divers  manners,"  and  that,  mediately, 
or  immediately,  man,  as  His  creature,  is  brought 
into  responsible  contact  with  the  Divine  super- 
natural as  giving  evidence  to  Him.  Some  instances 
from  Holy  Scripture  may  here  be  given  in  which 
the  fundamental  principle  is  stated,  and  the  re- 
sponsibility of  man  as  connected  with  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  as  Creator  is  declared.  St.  Paul, 
in  Kom.  1 :  19,  20,  says  that  "  His  eternal  power 
and  Godhead  is  so  declared,  and  clearly  seen." 
So  Elihu  uses  the  same  evidence  to  convince  Job ; 
and  Jehovah,  Himself,  ratifies  the  argument  and 
enlarges  upon  it  with  majestic  grandeur  and 
beauty  (Job,  chs.  38-42).  St.  Paul  from  Mars  Hill 
spoke  to  the  Athenians  of  Him  who  "hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times 
before  appointed  and  the  bounds  of  their  habi- 
tation" (Acts  17 :  26).  Paul  and  Barnabas,  at 
Lystra,  spoke  of  the  "  Living  God  who  in  times 
past  suffered  all  nations  to  walk  in  their  own 
ways ;  nevertheless,  He  left  not  Himself  without 
witness,  in  that  He  did  good,  and  sent  us  rain 
from  heaven  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts 
with  food  and  gladness"  (Acts  14:16,  17).  Our 
blessed  Lord  has  most  clearly  and  fully  restated 
the  same  evidence  in  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  upon  other  occasions ;  inculcating  upon  us  the 
lesson  of  faith  in  God,  from  His  care  of  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  and  from  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  of  the 


10      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

field,  and  from  the  fact  that  His  goodness  is  seen  in 
causing  His  sun  to  shine  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,  and  in  sending  rain  upon  the  just  and  on  the 
unjust.     We  may  summarize  the  evidence  by  say- 
ing  that   from    whatever   part   of   God's  universe 
we  regard  Him  in  evidence,  also  whether  it  be  in 
the    display    of    power   and   majesty,   in   wisdom 
and  skill,  in  constancy  and  stability,  in  order  and 
harmony,  in  beauty,  or,  in  love,  and  beneficence ; 
we  see  the  properties  of  a  Personal  Agent,  and  in 
the  unity  to  be  traced  all  through  His  works,  we 
clearly  can,  and  justly  should,  from  the  evidence 
conclude  that  it  is  one,  and  complete  in  His  won- 
drous Personality.     As  Theists  we  maintain  that 
the  world  is  its  own  witness  to  a  personal  Creator. 
As   Biblical   Theists  we  maintain  that  the  works 
of   creation  and  the  Word  of  God  exhibit  unity 
of  origin  ;  that  they  exhibit  unity  of  design ;  both 
severally,  and  as  related  to  each  other,  and  they 
are    homogeneous    in    character.     But    I    have   a 
further   and   a  more  important  point  to  make  in 
regard  to  Natural  Theology,  or,  the  Works  of  God 
in  nature,  as  related  to  the  Bible.     As  an  organic 
and  structural  unit,  the  Bible,  as  a  whole,  exhibits 
evidence     that    it    is     based    upon    the    primary 
and  axiomatic  fact  of  a  Personal  First  Cause,  as 
Creator  and  Governor  of  the  world.     So  far  from 
the    rudimentary    and   initial   evidence,    as   found 
in  the  Cosmos,  being  anywise  doubtful,  or  deficient 
as  to  this  rudimentary  and  necessary  truth,  we  are 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  II 

justified  in  affirming  that  subsequent  historical  and 
inspired  revelations  of  God  in  Holy  Scripture, 
while  they  are  in  their  several  parts  a  progressive 
and  cumulatory  revelation  of  God,  are  also,  largely, 
amplifications  and  reassertions  of  the  initial 
evidence  of  Creation  and  Conservation.  They  are, 
as  cumulative  and  progressive  evidence,  based  upon 
natural  law,  and  a  personal  lawgiver,  as  so  ex- 
hibited. These  primary  and  essential  evidences  for 
God  are  continuously  ratified  and  reasserted  by  the 
writers  of  the  Old  Testament,  including  the 
prophets  and  the  authors  of  the  Hagiographa ;  they 
are  most  fully  ratified  in  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  they  are  also  implied  and  acknowl- 
edged in  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  It 
is  also  to  be  noticed  that  throughout  the  Holy 
Scriptures  this  natural  evidence  is  not  only  repro- 
duced as  a  memorial  for  God,  and  as  a  first  prin- 
ciple of  Theism,  but  it  is  charged  against  men 'with 
superadded  sanctions.  As  a  principle  of  God's  gov- 
ernment, distinctive  in  character,  and  as  a  fundamen- 
tal truth  concerning  human  accountability,  it  is  as- 
serted by  St.  Paul  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans ; 
and  while  it  is  there  explicitly  taught,  in  various 
other  places  it  is  taught  by  implication.  As  an 
illustration  of  such  general  principle  permeating 
Holy  Scripture,  I  will  here  refer  to  the  instances  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  of  his  son  Belshazzar.  In 
categorical  terms  Belshazzar  is  charged  with  not 
glorifying  God,  as  the  known  author  of  his  being. 


12      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

"  The  God  in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and  whose 
are  all  thy  ways,  thou  hast  not  glorified"  (Dan. 
5  :  23).  The  same  charge  that  is  laid  by  St.  Paul 
against  the  heathen  world  in  Koni.  1 :  20,  21.  It  is 
to  be  noticed  that  in  the  case  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
the  same  charge  is  made  positive.  He  is  charged 
with  exalting  himself  against  God,  whom  he  knew 
to  be  the  source  of  the  power  he  exercised  and  the 
glory  that  he  possessed.  The  Lord  Jehovah  here 
declares  Himself  as  Supreme  Governor,  and  that 
the  kings  and  people  of  the  earth  are  responsible  to 
Him  under  natural  law ;  and  that  they  are  under 
the  obligation  of  glorifying  Him  as  Creator  and  as 
moral  Governor.  We  find  elsewhere,  as  in  Job 
34  :  27,  that  the  charge  and  condemnation  is  laid 
against  men  of  "  refusing  to  consider  any  of  His 
ways,"  or,  as  David  says  (Ps.  14 :  2),  "  enquire 
after  God." 

To  prove  all  the  evidences  to  this  fact  by  direct 
or  indirect  reference  would  be  to  transcribe  no 
small  portion  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  It 
is  also  to  be  observed  that,  as  man,  himself,  is  "  within 
the  unity  of  nature,"  and  that  as  to  him  that  evi- 
dence is  specially  presented,  as  he  is  also  specially 
capacitated  ontologically  and  morally  to  receive  it, 
so,  the  teaching  of  natural  law  is  appealed  to,  as  it 
is  asserted  both  without  and  around  him,  and  also 
as  a  law  within  himself  (Job  40 :  15-24).  We  are 
directed  to  the  consideration  of  God's  attributes  as 
displayed  in   Creation,   both  to  remind  us  of  our 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  13 

dependence  upon  Him,  and  to  comfort  and  assure  us 
in  that  dependence.  We  are  reminded  of  His  char- 
acter as  the  Eternally  Kighteous  One  to  establish  us 
in  the  work  of  righteousness,  and  to  patient  con- 
tinuance in  well  doing  by  the  consideration  that  He 
is  a  "faithful  Creator  "  (1  Pet.  4  :  19).1 

Further  than  this,  not  only  are  we  instructed  to 
know  and  to  believe  that  the  Bible,  as  an  organic 
whole,  is  based  upon  the  abstract  fact  of  God,  as 
Creator  and  Governor,  but  we  also  find  that  subse- 
quent books  of  the  Bible  consolidate  and  ratify  the 
historical  and  initial  evidence  given  in  the  Book  of 
Genesis  to  the  concrete  fact,  and  circumstantial 
evidence  therein  given  of  such  creation,  and  of  its 
subsequent  results  and  consequences.  Not  only 
do  we  find  that  the  subsequent  books  of  the  Bible 
are  organically  united  with  the  book  of  Genesis,  and 

1 1  will,  here,  quote  a  passage  from  the  book  of  Job,  which  may 
be  said  to  contain  the  gist  of  the  argument  from  a  Theistic  and 
Biblical  standpoint,  for  Natural  Theology. 

' '  But  ask  now  the  beasts  and  they  will  teach  thee  ;  and  the  fowls 
of  the  air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee  ;  or  speak  to  the  earth,  and  it 
shall  teach  thee  ;  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea  shall  declare  to  thee. 
Who  knoweth  not  in  all  these  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath 
wrought  this.  In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living  thing,  and 
the  breath  of  all  mankind  "  (Job  12  :  7,  8,  9,  10).  The  inference  de- 
ducible  from  this  passage,  as,  also,  from  the  whole  scope  of  scrip- 
ture teaching  is  this  :  As  objective  evidence,  addressed  to  man, 
creation  is,  in  itself,  unequivocal  evidence  of,  and  testimony  to  God, 
as  perfect  First  Cause,  and  Creator,  and  man  cannot  without  crimi- 
nality, in  his  relation  to  God,  separate  between  Him  and  the  works 
of  His  hands,  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 


14  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  inspired   record  of  creation ;  but  they  are,  as 
parts  of  the  organic  structure,  based  upon  the  in- 
spired record  of  creation,  and  also  upon  the  record 
of  the  Fall  of  Man ;  and  that  such  record  is  consoli- 
dated by  cumulative  and  homogeneous  evidence,  in 
Law,  in  Prophecy  and  in  History  ;  and  such  testi- 
mony is  perfected  and  finally  sealed  by  the  authori- 
tative, and  explicit  teaching  and  testimony  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.     It  is  sufficient  here  to  observe 
that  these  considerations  are  vital  to  us.     They  are 
primary,  and  also  eternal  principles  of  God's  moral 
government.     As  they  were,  by  Job,  and  his  friends 
accepted  as  familiar  and  axiomatic,  as  well  as  neces- 
sary truths,  they  are,  as  such,  endorsed  and  reas- 
serted, both  in  their  relation  to  God  as  Creator  and 
Father,  and  also  to  the  inspired  record  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  as  God's  handiwork ;  and  to 
the  Bible,  as  a  whole,  by  Him  whose  authority  and 
testimony  may  not  be  disputed  without  peril.     As 
He  has  declared  that  upon  love  to  God,  and  love 
to  man,  as  essential  principles,  are  based  "  all  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets,"  so  also  may  we  be  justified 
by  His  teaching  in  declaring  that  with  regard  to 
Natural  Keligion,  and  the  Word  of  God,  the  attri- 
butes and  character  of  God  and  the  ontological  and 
moral  faculties  of  man  with  which  God  as  Creator 
has  endowed  him,  are  the  salient  features  of  His 
moral  government,  and  the  basis  of  all  subsequent 
revelations  of  the  Divine  Will  concerning  us,  and 
the  governing  factors  by  which  they  are  directed. 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  15 

The  prophet \ical  t  inching  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  regard  to  Natural  Theology. 

I  have  hereinbefore  but  incidentally  quoted  the 
teaching  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  in  regard  to  God 
as  Creator,  and  in  regard  to  Natural  Theology.  I 
desire  now,  in  closing  this  summary,  to  make  it  a 
special  point  in  the  argument,  and  as  the  subject 
stands  related  to  Christ  and  to  Christianity.  In  view 
of  the  fact  that,  in  the  theodicy  of  "  Lux  Mundi," 
the  Incarnation  is  the  terminus  a  quo,  or  starting 
point  of  dogmatic  Theism,  the  ascertained  facts  of 
our  Lord's  teaching  in  regard  to  natural  evidences 
is  of  peculiar  importance.  The  question  is,  AVhat 
are  these  facts  ?  The  answer  afforded  to  us  in  the 
Gospel  is,  that  God's  works  and  character  as  evi- 
denced in  Creation,  and  Conservation,  are  brought 
forth  as  specific  and  distinctive  elements  of  truth 
concerning  His  character  and  moral  government ; 
that,  as  such,  they  are  directly  appealed  to  ;  and, 
also,  that  as  such  evidence,  they  are  incorporated 
with  His  own  personal  and  prophetic  teaching  in 
regard  to  the  character  and  objects  of  Christian 
faith,  and  the  subject  of  Christian  duty.  This  is 
evidenced  throughout  all  the  recorded  teaching  of 
our  Lord.  It  is  made  prominent  in  a  special  man- 
ner by  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  love,  wis- 
dom and  care  of  God  is  the  great  theme,  and  the 
basis  of  every  precept.  God  cares  for  the  ravens  ; 
He  clothes  the  lilies  of  the  field  ;  He  causes  His  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good  ;  He  sends  rain 


16      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  The  love,  even  of  our 
enemies,  is  inculcated  upon  us  by  the  fact  that  our 
Father  in  Heaven  is  kind  unto  the  unthankful,  and 
to  the  evil.  We  are  exhorted  to  kindness  and  un- 
selfish benevolence  by  the  fact  that  He  is  the  great 
and  universal  Giver ;  our  duty,  in  short,  as  disciples 
of  Christ,  is  here  set  before  us  and  inculcated  on  the 
broad  and  primary  basis  of  the  personality  and  char- 
acter of  God. 


Synopsis  of  Chapter  I1 

It  will,  I  think,  be  useful,  having  considered  the 
evidence,  negative  and  positive  for  Natural  The- 
ology, or  in  other  words,  for  the  being  and  person- 
ality of  God  as  Creator  and  Author  of  the  world 
we  live  in,  and  of  the  universe  at  large,  to  summarize 
the  conclusion  deducible  from  the  evidence,  as  a 
basal  truth,  and  as  that  on  which  we  may  properly 
build  the  primary  and  initial  truth  of  the  theistic 
argument. 

There  have  been,  in  all  ages,  those  who  have  dis- 
believed, or  affected  to  disbelieve,  the  primary  and 
rudimentary  truth  of  the  existence  and  being  of  God 
as  declared  and  set  forth  to  us  in  Holy  Scripture. 

1  As  integral  parts  of  a  consecutive  argument,  it  is  desirable  that 
the  Notes  to  the  several  Chapters,  placed  in  the  Appendix,  should 
be  read  in  their  proper  order  and  relation  to  the  Chapters  to  which 
they  belong. 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  IV 

It  may  be  said  to  be  characteristic  of  and  peculiar 
to  the  disbelief  of  the  present  day  as  declared  by 
its  teachers,  that  it  is  a  disbelief  of  the  natural 
evidence,  and  professedly  on  grounds  of  science,  or 
the  ascertained  fact  of  natural  law.  Moreover,  it  is 
further  characteristic  of  such  disbelief  in  the  present 
age,  that  it,  now,  comes  to  us  from  within  the  pro- 
fessing church  of  God,  and  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  a  Theodicy  is  built  upon  this 
basis  ;  primarily  upon  what  is  asserted  to  be  a  basis 
of  scientific  truth,  or  the  ascertained  facts  of  natural 
law.  Such  is  the  character  of  the  Theodicy  of  "  Lux 
Mundi."  Its  authors  plainly  and  unmistakably  state 
and  declare  that  it  is  built  upon  evolution.  Were 
their  premise  supported  by  the  logic  of  fact,  as  they 
would  have  us-  believe  it  to  be,  we  should  then  be 
justified  in  saying  that  the  primary  and  initial  truth 
of  Theism — i.  <?.,  the  being  and  personality  of  God 
as  First  Cause  and  Creator — were  overthrown  and 
made  void,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  evidence  and 
teaching  of  natural  law  ;  and,  consequently,  that  the 
claims  and  evidence  of  the  law  supernatural  were 
also  made  void  and  of  none  effect,  nay  that  it  were 
a  fabrication,  and  a  superstitious  delusion, — at  the 
least. 

Without  in  this  place  remarking  upon  the  logical, 
Biblical  and  theological  results,  in  detail,  it  is  suffi- 
cient, now,  synoptically  to  declare  the  conclusions 
deduced,  and  I  think  logically  deduced  from  all  the 
evidence,  that  the  claim  so  made,  in  the  name  of 


18      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

science  and  of  natural  law,  is  not  verified  and  sup- 
ported thereby ;  that  the  theory  of  cosmical  evolu- 
tion, however  held,  is  not  entitled  to  claim  the 
ascertained  facts  and  principles  of  science  as  its 
ground  and  original ;  and  that  such  has  been  as- 
serted in  the  name  and  in  the  authority  of  science, 
by  those  who  are  entitled  to  speak  on  its  behalf. 

Having  noticed  this  fact,  I  shall  in  epitomizing 
the  results  of  all  the  evidence  proceed  to  say,  first, 
that  the  actual  results  obtained  from  the  study  of 
nature  by  capable  specialists,  has  resulted  in  the 
fully  sufficient  and  satisfactory  proof  of  the  opera- 
tions and  character  of  a  supreme  and  perfect  First 
Cause ;  I  say  that  such  results  are  obtained  from 
the  works  of  nature,  themselves,  intrinsically  con- 
sidered, as  affording  such  evidence,  or,  by  a  sub- 
jective and  analytical  examination;  but  in  con- 
junction with  and  fortified  by  consideration  of  our 
own  ontological  qualities  and  character  as  those  to 
whom  such  evidence  is  presented  of  God  ;  and  as 
man  is  shown  therein,  himself,  to  be  within  the 
unity  of  nature. 

Objective  nature,  as  related  to,  and  inclusive  of 
man,  we  may  consider  the  com  piemen  turn  of  natural 
evidence  to  God  as  Creator,  and  as  Moral  Governor 
of  the  universe.  This  evidence  for  God,  intrinsically 
considered,  is  a  sufficient  witness  to  the  fact,  as  it  is 
the  universal,  and  also  the  minimum  of  evidence 
ordained  of  God,  in  the  order  and  conditions  of  His 
moral  government. 


NATURAL  THEOLOGY  19 

The  next  point  I  have  to  make  is  this ;  Natural 
evidence,  so  described,  to  God,  as  Creator  and  Moral 
Governor  of  the  world,  is  fortified  by,  and  unified 
with  the  testimony  of  His  inspired  Word  to  the 
same  primary  fact.  It  may  correctly  and  truly  be 
said  that  the  primary,  as  well  as  the  initial  truth  of 
Holy  Scripture,  is  that  fundamental  truth  which 
underlies  it  all,  and  on  which  it  is  based ;  the 
opening  declaration  in  the  Bible,  "  In  the  begin- 
ning Gocl  created  the  heavens  and  the  Earth" 
(Gen.  1 :  1). 

I  shall  not  amplify,  but  simply  state  the  fact  that 
the  several  books  of  the  Bible,  in  their  chrono- 
logical order,  successively  iterate,  and  reiterate, 
with  progressive  and  cumulative  testimony  this 
initial  truth,  with  which  every  successive  truth  is 
unified,  and  upon  which  it  is  built,  the  sublime  and 
glorious  truth  of  the  character  and  personality  of 
God,  as  First  Cause,  and  as  Chief-good,  and  as  the 
Universal  Father  of  His  creatures. 

Let  it  be  understood,  and  observed  that  herein 
there  is  no  evolutionary  progress,  by  which  previous 
elements  of  truth  are  superseded  and  abrogated, 
but  a  progressive,  cumulative  and  culminatory  reve- 
lation to  man,  upon  this  basis,  and  unified  with,  as 
expletive  of  the  great  primary  and  essential  verity 
of  the  Eternity,  Personality  and  Fatherhood  of 
God. 

The  last  point  I  wish  to  make,  in  this  synopsis,  is 
this  :  That  Holy  Scripture,  in  its  entirety,  is   the 


20  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

complementum  of  all  evidence  and  testimony  to  the 
existence,  character  and  will  of  God  in  His  relation 
as  Creator,  Moral  Governor  and  Kedeemer  of  men  ; 
and  that  it  is  a  Divine  summary  of  the  history  of 
mankind  and  of  God's  dealings  with  him,  as  well  as 
of  all  necessary  truths  concerning  God  Himself.  I 
shall  merely  state,  and  repudiate  the  assertion  that 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  to  be  regarded 
as  Jewish  literature.  This  fallacious  statement  is 
the  minor  premise  of  the  rationalistic  criticism,  but 
it  has  its  root  and  origin  in  that  aversion  to  the 
Divine  supernatural  characteristic  of  man,  as  he  is 
a  sinner  and  fallen  from  God.  The  Bible  is  the 
book  of  God  as  related  to  man,  and  it  is  so  fully 
and  completely  one  book  that  it  includes  and  is 
unified  with  the  book  of  nature,  as  it  is  itself  the 
Divine  unification  of  all  evidences,  including  all 
and  singular  of  those  supra-natural  revelations 
which  it  has  pleased  God  to  make  of  Himself  to 
mankind. 


CHAPTEK  II 

NATURAL   RELIGION 

It  may  suffice  to  say  that  the  term  NaturaV 
Religion  is  herein  used  as  describing  subjective 
Theism,  and  as  the  result  of,  or  associated  with 
Theistic  evidence  in  nature,  or  Natural  Theology. 

It  is  to  be  noted  here  also  that  these  elements  of 
Theism,  objective  and  subjective,  are  permanent 
elements,  always  to  be  accounted  of  in  historic 
Theism  and  in  the  estimate  of  human  privilege  and 
accountability,  as  they  are  consolidated  and  in- 
corporated as  such  in  Holy  Scripture.  The  impor- 
tance to  be  attached  to  this  fact  will  be  more 
evident  hereafter;  it  is  sufficient,  here,  to  refer  to 
the  fact  as  it  is  connected  with  the  great  principle 
of  a  law  eternal,  having  its  origin  in  the  being  and 
personality  of  God. 

In  Natural  Theology  we  view  God's  attributes 
and  character  as  displayed  in  His  works  ;  in  Natural 
Eeligion  we  contemplate  Him  as  a  Lawgiver ;  and 
also,  the  subjective  and  internal  operation  of  His 
moral  law. 

The  laws  of  physical  nature  supply  an  analogical 
argument  for  the  fact  of  His  moral  government,  as 
also  for  that  of  His  existence  and  personality.     Such 

21 


22      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

analogical  argument  is,  I  conceive,  to  be  regarded 
as  accessory  to  more  direct  and  specific  evidence  and 
proof ;  this  specific  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  those 
moral  axioms  of  subjective  truth  clearly  deduced 
from  the  personality  of  God,  as  declared  and  set 
forth  in  creation  itself — or,  in  Natural  Theology. 
We  have  seen  that  the  being  and  nature  of  God,  as 
the  perfect  intelligence,  is  the  inherent  and  unde- 
rived  law  of  His  operations;  also,  that  from  the 
inherent  and  eternal  law  of  God's  being,  a  second 
and  a  derived  law-eternal,  is  found  in  the  works  of 
His  creation.     We  have,  now,  to  notice  the  law  of 
man's  nature,  peculiar  to  him,  as  man,  which  God 
has  imparted  to  him  in  creation,  as  the  governing 
law  for  the  regulation  of  his  life.     This  law  is  the 
faculty     of     understanding     and    knowledge,— or 
reason,  as  it  is  peculiar  to  the  human  soul.     It  is  an 
ontological  and  psychical  quality;  and  a  primary 
part  of  those  moral  faculties  by  which  man  is  made 
a  fitting  subject  of  God's  moral  government,  as  it  is 
coupled  with  a  capacity  for  free-agency,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  determinating  faculty,  or  will.     Man,  as 
the   Creator's   handiwork,   and   ontologically   con- 
sidered, apart  .from  the  controlling  bias  of  predomi- 
nating good,  or,  morally  considered,  does  so  partake 
of  God's  image.     There  is  great  significance  in  the 
inspired  declaration  that  God  "breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living 
soul."     This  is  the  normal  and  distinctive  faculty 
peculiar  to  man,  as  it  is  divinely  bestowed.     This, 


NATURAL  RELIGION  23 

it  is  the  duty  of  the  responsible  creature  to  follow 
and  obey,  as  the  law  of  his  life,  ordained  of  God. 

By  the  gift  of  a  rational  soul,  man  has  been  on- 
tologically  and  generically  separated  by  his  Creator 
from  the  brute  creation  ;  and  we  may  say  that  his 
lordship  over  them,  given  him  by  God,  has  been  so 
constituted. 

From  the  premises  before  established  as  to  the 
source  and  origin  and  to  the  character  of  this  law, 
peculiar  to  man,  as  ontologically  related  to  God  as 
Creator,  it  is,  as  stated  by  Hooker,  justly  considered 
that  the  following  moral  axioms  of  subjective 
knowledge,  by  the  evidence  in  nature,  may  be 
clearly  drawn. 

1st.  That  the  human  understanding,  or  law  of 
reason,  teaches  adoration  of  the  Supreme  Being,  as 
it  acknowledges  Him  as  known. 

2d.  That  the  principle  of  Eight  as  proceeding 
from  Him  is  universally  acknowledged. 

3d.  As  a  further  consequence,  it  is  a  universally 
acknowledged  duty,  peculiar  to  man,  as  man,  to  do 
as  he  would  be  done  by. 

The  foregoing  are  the  primary  moral  axioms 
which,  as  Hooker  says  "  The  mind  even  of  mere 
natural  men  have  attained  to  know,"  and  uni- 
versally accepted  as  duty. 

He  calls  them  "grand  mandates,"  in  contradis- 
tinction from  other  moral  duties,  so  knowable, 
and  he  shews  that  they,  in  substance,  contain  the 
two  great  commandments  which  our  Divine  Lord 


24  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

declares  to  be  "all  the  Law  and  the  Prophets" 
(Hooker,  Eccles.  Pol.,  Book  II,  Ch.  8). 

I  regard  Hooker's  arguments,  which  I  have  epit- 
omized, as  a  thoroughly  logical  statement  of  the 
elements  of  Theism ;  and  his  statements  are  sup- 
ported by  ample  evidence  from  Plato,  Aristotle, 
Cicero,  together  with  Augustine,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
and  others ;  his  own  great  name,  however,  is  suf- 
ficient evidence  and  guarantee. 

I  subjoin  a  few  additional  remarks  simply  to 
summarize  the  argument,  and  to  trace  its  connec- 
tions. Hooker,  by  a  process  of  inductive  reasoning, 
from  effect  to  cause,  shows  that  the  universality  of 
the  evidence,  on  a  fundamental  matter  of  moral 
obligation,  could  only  obtain  the  agreement  indi- 
cated in  the  axioms  before  mentioned,  by  emanation 
from  Him  who  made  all  men ;  and  that  such  result 
is  mediately  obtained,  first,  because  of  the  univer- 
sality of  the  objective  evidence  in  the  works  of 
nature,  and,  second,  because  of  the  identity  of 
moral  constitution  in  man ;  and  because  of  the 
reasoning  faculty,  peculiar  to  man  (ontologically 
considered)  and  given  to  him  as  the  governing  law 
of  his  life. 

I  will  now  add  some  evidence  from  Holy  Scrip- 
ture as  the  corroborative  law  by  which  truth  is, 
finally,  to  be  tested. 

First  in  order,  it  will  be  proper  to  corroborate  our 
principle  as  to  the  first  Law  Eternal,  b}^  this  rule. 
In  Psalm  25  :  8,  we  read,  "  Good  and  upright  is  the 


NATURAL  RELIGION  25 

Lord  ;  therefore  will  He  teach  sinners  in  the  way." 
So,  Psalm  11 :  7,  "  The  righteous  Lord  loveth  right- 
eousness, His  countenance  will  behold  the  upright." 
So,  Isaiah  26 :  7,  "  Thou  most  upright  dost  weigh 
the  path  of  the  just."  So,  Solomon  in  Prov.  14:  2 
says,  "  He  that  walketh  in  his  uprightness  feareth 
the  Lord ;  but  he  that  is  perverse  in  his  ways  de- 
spiseth  Him." 

I  have  made  no  special  selection  of  the  above; 
they  do  but  indicate  the  general  tenor  of  the  testi- 
mony. 

Noticing,  first,  the  necessary  inference  derivable 
from  the  last  clause  of  the  last  passage  quoted,  viz., 
that  the  Lord  Jehovah,  as  the  fountain  or  source  of 
Law,  is  essentially  upright,  I  will  add  a  quotation 
from  the  grand  Song  of  Moses  in  Deut.  32  :  4,  "  He 
is  the  rock,  His  work  is  perfect ;  a  God  of  truth  and 
without  iniquity,  just  and  right  is  He."  This  may 
suffice.  "  Just "  or  "  Eight  "  does  but  express  what 
we,  in  our  idiom,  can  but  express  by  "perfect"  or 
"  good,"  as  applied  to  moral  and  personal  qualities ; 
but  expressed  by  Greek  writers,  as  Hooker  saj^s, 
"most  divinely"  by  one  word,  combining  the  ideas 
of  beauty  and  of  goodness,  viz.,  Kalokagathia 
{^dkokayadia).  In  reference  to  the  Divine  personal- 
ity, we  may  add  that  the  moral  intuition  which  all 
men  may  be  said  to  have  of  His  essential  being  and 
character,  is  that  of  absolute  moral  perfection  ;  the 
Eternal  Right.  This  is  expressed  by  Faber  when 
he  says, 


20  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

"For  Right  is  right,  as  God  is  God, 
And  Right  the  day  must  win  ; 
To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty, 
To  falter  would  be  sin." 

Confirmatory  of  the  fact  that  rectitude  may  properly 
define  the  essential  being  of  the  Most  High,  I  will 
notice  that  it  is  evident  in  all  of  Holy  Scripture  that 
the  law  of  rectitude  is  that  by  which  He  has  always 
proved  men,  by  which  He  has  accepted  them, — and, 
upon  which  all  the  hope  and  confidence  of  His  true 
worshipers  have  been  based  and  grounded,  as  it 
has  constituted  the  great  plea  of  their  petitions  for 
acceptance  at  His  hands.  Thus,  David  pleads  in 
Psalm  26 :  1-3,  "  Judge  me  O  Lord,  for,  I  have 
walked  in  mine  integrity."  Such  was  the  plea  of 
Abimelech,  King  of  Gerar,  "  In  the  integrity  of  my 
heart  and  in  the  innocency  of  my  hands  have  I  done 
this ; "  and  so,  God  accepted  him  (Gen.  20 :  5,  6). 
Such  was  God's  charge  to  Abraham,  "I  am  the 
Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me  and  be  thou  per- 
fect,"— i.  e.,  upright  (Gen.  17 :  1).  Such  was 
Abraham's  great  plea  when  pleading  for  Sodom, 
"  Shall  not  the  judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?  " 
Such,  too,  was  the  character  given  of  Enoch,  of  Noah, 
and  of  Job. 

It  is  proper  and  necessary,  now,  to  substantiate 
the  argument  for  the  "  second  law  eternal,"  as  stated 
by  Hooker.  St.  Paul  says,  in  Rom.  1 :  21,  of  the 
heathen  nations  or  edvot,  that  "  When  they  knew 
God,  they  glorified  Him  not,  as  God,  neither  were 


NATURAL  RELIGION  27 

thankful, — but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened ;  professing  them- 
selves to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,  and  changed 
the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  to  an  image 
made  like  unto  corruptible  man."  Further  than 
this,  "  they  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and 
worshiped  and  served  the  creature  more  than  (i.  e., 
in  preference  to)  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  forever. 
Amen."  In  Eom.  2 :  14,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  those 
who,  living  under  the  law  of  nature,  were  a  law  unto 
themselves,  while  not  having  the  law,  written  and 
revealed.  Such,  he  says,  "  Shew  the  work  of  the 
Law,  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also 
bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts,  the  meanwhile 
accusing,  or  else  excusing  one  another."  Hooker 
refers  to  the  above  passage  in  connection  with  John 
1 :  7,  8, 9,  which  speaks  of  Christ  as  "  The  true  light 
which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world." 

Both  of  the  foregoing  passages  may  be  read  in 
connection  with  the  remarkable  utterance  of  our  Di- 
vine Lord,  Himself,  in  Luke  12 :  54-58,  where  He 
says,  "  O  ye  hypocrites  !  ye  can  discern  the  face  of 
the  sky,  and  of  the  earth,  and,  how  is  it  that  ye  do 
not  discern  this  time?"  There  may  be  no  doubt 
that  our  Lord  is,  here,  referring  to  the  era  of  time,  as 
related  to  God's  moral  government,  which  the  his- 
toric facts  of  that  government  had  progressively  dis- 
closed ; — and,  especially, — as  related  to  the  Gospel 
era,  and  to  Himself.     St.  Paul  refers  to  the  fact  that 


28      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

God  had  "  determined  the  times  before  appointed," 
as  well  as  "  the  bounds  of  the  habitation,"  of  differ- 
ent races  of  men  (Acts  17 :  24-28). 

Another  remarkable  expression  we  find  in  Holy 
Scripture,  with  a  cognate  reference ;  i.  <?.,  "  This 
Way "  and  "  That  Way."  Thus  in  Acts  22 :  4, 
St.  Paul  says,  "I  persecuted  this  wray  unto  the 
death,"  "  binding  and  delivering  into  prisons  both 
men  and  women."  So,  in  Acts  19 :  23,  we  read, 
"  And  at  the  same  time  there  arose  no  small  stir 
about  that  way."  The  reference  in  both  the  above 
passages  (specifically  in  the  latter)  is  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity. 

In  Acts  5 :  20,  we  find  reference  to  Christianity 
in  its  subjective  aspect ;  or,  the  manner  of  life  and 
distinctive  character  that  it  produces.  The  Angel 
of  the  Lord,  by  night,  opened  the  prison  doors,  and 
brought  them  out,  and  said,  "  Go  stand  and  speak 
in  the  temple,  to  the  people  all  the  words  of  this 
life."  So,  Christ  is  said,  distinctively,  to  be  the  life 
of  His  people.  "  When  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall 
appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  Him  in 
glory  "  (Col.  3  :  1).  Collectively,  all  these  passages 
stand  related,  and  have  reference  to  the  times  of 
Christ,  the  way  of  His  salvation,  and  the  life  that 
characterizes  His  people,  as  the  result  of  belief  in 
Him.  So  also,  with  reference  to  the  words  of  our 
Lord  before  quoted  (i.  <?.,  Luke  12  :  54-58)  must  we 
understand  Him  to  mean  as  referring  to  the  fact 
of  their  having  natural   means   of   knowledge   of 


NATURAL  RELIGION  29 

God,  and  of  Himself,  as  well  as  a  reference  to  the 
Old  Testament  scriptures  in  such  relation  ;  but,  yet 
more  significant  are  the  words  that  follow,  "  Yea, 
and  why  even  of  yourselves,  judge  ye  not  what  is 
right  ?  " 

The  analogy,  closing  this  discourse,  ratifies  the 
interpretation  I  have  given.  Evidently,  our  Lord 
here  sets  the  seal  of  His  authority  to  the  principle 
deduced  from  the  works  of  nature,  and  ratified  by 
His  holy  Word,  as  to  the  law  of  reason  being  the 
first  publication  to  man  of  the  Divine  Law  for  the 
government  of  his  life  and  actions;  and,  of  its 
being  sufficient  to  hold  him  accountable  therefor. 

So  also  in  the  forty-fifth  chapter  of  the  Prophecy 
of  Isaiah,  Jehovah's  words  to  Cyrus,  the  Persian 
monarch,  nmy  be  regarded  as  strictly  pertinent  to 
the  case  of  heathendom,  and  to  means,  by  the  law 
of  nature,  of  knowledge  of  God.  "  For,  thus  saith 
the  Lord  that  created  the  heavens  ;  God,  Himself, 
that  formed  the  earth  and  established  it,  He  created 
it  not  in  vain,  He  formed  it  to  be  inhabited,  I  am 
the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  else.  I  have  not  spoken 
in  secret,  in  a  dark  place  of  the  earth ;  I  said  not  to 
any  of  the  seed  of  Jacob,  Seek  ye  My  face  in  vain ; 
I  the  Lord  (i.  e.,  Jehovah)  speak  righteousness,  I 
declare  things  that  are  right."  Here  Jehovah  ex- 
pressly declares  Himself  as  the  fountain  of  moral 
law.  The  law  of  His  own  being  and  also  that  of 
the  second  law-eternal, — given  to  man  as  the  law 
of  a  rational  soul,  is  the  law  of  Right. 


30  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

"The  way  of  the  just  is  uprightness;  Thou,  most 
upright,  dost  weigh  the  path  of  the  just"  (Isaiah 
26  :  7).  I  quote  this  passage  a  second  time,  because 
it  connects  the  first,  and  the  second  law-eternal,  as 
stated  by  Hooker. 

That  is  to  say,  those  who  are,  in  Holy  Scripture 
termed  "His  workmanship,"  with  His  being  and 
character  who  is  master-workman,  and  First  Cause. 
In  thus  ascertaining  and  demonstrating  that  the 
eternal  law  of  God's  being  is  the  law  of  Right,  and 
that  such  is  the  law,  primary  and  fundamental,  that 
He  has  given  to  man  as  the  special  law  for  the 
government  of  his  life,  Ave  have  reached  a  most  im- 
portant conclusion  as  to  the  basis  of  God's  moral 
government,— considered  as  a  whole,  and  in  refer- 
ence to  the  several  parts  thereof;  and,  we  may 
properly  be  impressed  with  the  primary  fact,  that 
God  has  in  no  age,  and  in  no  part  of  the  world,  left 
Himself  without  witness  as  to  His  character  and  to 
the  law  that  should  govern  man's  life  in  relation  to 
his  Creator,  and  in  relation  to  his  fellow-man ;  and, 
also,  that  God  is  "the  revvarder  of  all  them  that 
diligently  seek  Him."  The  question  of  evidence  is 
simply  a  question  of  measure  and  degree,  and  not  a 
question  as  to  the  fact,  itself.  The  popular  idea  in 
regard  to  heathen  nations,  in  the  past,  and  in  the 
present,  as  well  as  the  premises  of  the  speculative 
theological  philosophy  of  the  day,  is  based  upon 
fallacy,  as  to  the  abstract  argument,  as  well  as 
upon  a  false  inference  as  to  the  position  of  Holy 


NATURAL  RELIGION  31 

Scripture  in  relation  to  Natural  Theology,  and  to 
Natural  Keligion.  It  is  quite  evident  to  the 
thoughtful  observer,  that  in  the  present  day,  as  in 
former  ages,  the  predominating  power  governing 
human  life  is  not  the  law  of  the  understanding,  but 
that  of  the  determinating  faculty,  or  will,  as  it  is 
controlled,  either  by  the  natural  appetite  and  the 
evil  affections  of  our  moral  nature  on  the  one  hand, 
or  by  the  renewed  and  regenerated  affections  which 
are  the  result  of  a  Divine  work  upon  the  soul,  on 
the  other.  Sin  and  holiness,  as  moral  qualities,  are 
the  same  in  all  ages ;  and  so  of  the  objective  evi- 
dence for  Theism,  in  its  primary  and  essential  char- 
acter. The  revelation  of  "  the  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ "  does  but  bring  out  in  the  clearest  manner 
both  the  glory  of  His  Divine  character,  and  the 
exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin.  "  This  is  the  condem- 
nation, that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  were  evil.  For  every  one  that  doeth  evil 
hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest 
his  deeds  should  be  reproved ;  but  he  that  doeth 
truth  cometh  to  the  light  that  his  deeds  may  be 
made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God " 
(John  2  :  19,  20,  21).  "  If  I  had  not  come  and 
spoken  to  them,  they  had  not  had  sin ;  but,  now, 
they  have  no  cloke  for  their  sin  "  (John  15 :  22). 

This  passage  refers,  not  to  the  fact,  merely,  but  to 
the  degree  of  sin.     To  trace  the  generic  character 


32  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  acceptable  obedience,  as  a  uniform  principle,  it  is 
found  in  faith.  "  He  that  is  of  God  heareth  God's 
words  ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not,  because  ye  are 
not  of  God  "  (John  8 :  47).  Again,  "  We  are  of  God ; 
he  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us ;  he  that  is  not  of 
God  heareth  not  us.  Hereby  know  we  the  spirit  of 
truth  and  the  spirit  of  error  "  (1  John  4 :  6).  Our 
Lord,  Himself,  claimed  man's  obedience  because  He 
was  sent  of  God. 

His  Messianic  character  and  claims,  viewed  from 
the  standpoint  of  His  personality  as  Immanuel,  em- 
bodied the  same  principle.  "  We  have  seen  (says 
the  beloved  disciple)  and  do  testify  that  the  Father 
sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world" 
(1  John  4  :  14). 

Having  now,  as  I  consider,  sufficiently  established 
the  primary  principle  of  God's  moral  government 
as  to  evidence  under  natural  law,  and  as  such  law 
stands  related,  not  only  to  its  character,  but  to  its 
sufficiency  to  hold  man  responsible  to  his  Creator ; 
and  as  such  evidence  applies  anterior  to  an  inspired 
law,  and  Lawgiver ;  I  shall  leave  the  consideration 
of  the  consequent  responsibility,  or  the  question  of 
conscience,  and  free-agency,  as  related  thereto,  until 
I  have  considered  some  other  subjects,  as  important 
elements  of  Theistic  knowledge,  anterior  to  inspira- 
tion. 

Before  doing  so  I  desire  to  state  Hooker's  answer 
to  the  objection,  "  How  do  you  account  for  the  fact 
that,  although  the  greatest  part  of  the  law  moral, 


NATURAL  RELIGION  33 

being  so  easy  for  all  men  to  know,  so  many  thou- 
sands of  men,  notwithstanding,  have  been  ignorant 
even  of  principal  moral  duties,  not  imagining  the 
breach  of  them  to  be  sin  ?  "  Hooker  says,  "  I  deny 
not  but  that  lewd  and  wicked  custom,  beginning  at 
first,  perhaps  among  a  few,  afterwards  spreading 
into  greater  multitudes,  and,  so  continuing,  from 
time  to  time,  may  be  of  force,  even  in  plain  things, 
to  smother  the  light  of  natural  understanding."  In 
short,  such  is  traceable  to  vicious  habit  and  custom. 
Man  does  not  know  God  simply  because  he  does  not 
want  to  know  Him.  This  is  true,  individually  con- 
sidered ;  and  it  needs  little  argument  to  state  the 
degree  of  power  attending  popularity.  It  is  the 
idol  that  most  men,  as  they  are  "  of  the  world,"  bow 
down  unto. 

In  reference  to  the  individual  aspect  of  the  matter, 
we  read  in  Psalm  14 :  2,  "  God  looked  down  from 
Heaven  upon  the  children  of  men  to  see  if  there 
were  any  that  would  understand  and  seek  after 
God  ; "  and  in  reference  to  the  latter  aspect,  or  to 
communities  of  men,  there  was  a  command  given  by 
Moses,  to  the  Israelites,  specially  directed  against 
the  power  of  the  multitude.  (Exodus  13  :  2)  "  Thou 
shalt  not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil."  So,  also, 
our  Lord  says  that  many  go  in  the  broad  way,  be- 
cause it  is  broad,  and  few  go  in  at  the  strait  gait 
and  walk  in  the  narrow  way,  because  it  is  strait, 
and  the  way  is  narrow  (Matt.  7  :  13,  14). 

This  too  is  a  fundamental  and  universal  principle 


34      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  Theism,  applicable  in  ail  ages,  in  all  localities. 
and  under  widely  different  degrees  of  light,  and  of 
religions  privilege.  Hence  we  arrive  at  the  moral 
as  well  as  the  Scripture  solution  of  the  inherent  char- 
acter of  sin.  It  is  "  the  transgression  of  the  law." 
As  it  is  the  act  of  a  rationaL  being,  it  cannot  be 
done  involuntarily  ;  it  must  be  done  willingly.  So. 
St.  Peter  says,  "  This  they  willingly  are  ignorant 
of."  And,  because  it  is  the  act  of  the  will, — the 
final  action  taken  by  the  moral  agent  upon  evidence, 
— the  law  of  reason,  the  law  given  to  guide  him.  is 
transgressed  ;  and.  in  violating  the  law  of  his  nature, 
given  him  of  God  as  the  guide  of  his  actions,  he 
commits  an  act  that  brings  him  under  the  law  of 
moral  accountability.  "  To  him  that  knoweth  to 
do  good  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin  "  (James 
4:  17  >.  The  negative,  here,  as  always,  involves  the 
positive.  The  same  principle  holds  good  whether 
the  act  is  done  under  natural,  or  under  supernatural 
and  inspired  law.  It  is  necessary,  in  the  next  place, 
to  state  an  important  principle  equally  fundamental 
to  Theism,  which  is  this  :  that  man  cannot,  under 
any  circumstances,  as  cannot  any  created  being,  by 
any  possibility,  be  independent  of  God.  as  First 
Cause.  Hooker  guards  his  statements  as  to  the 
law-eternal  of  man's  nature,  by  stating  this  fact  in 
the  most  emphatic  terms  (Book  II.  ch.  9  :  1 ).  "  There 
is  no  kind  of  faculty  or  power  in  man.  or  in  any 
other  creature,  which  can  rightly  perform  the  func- 
tions allotted  to  it,  without  the  perpetual  aid  and 


NATURAL   RELIGION  35 

concurrence  of  that  supreme  cause  of  all  things." 
That  is  to  say,  without  supernatural  help,  or  in 
other  words,  without  the  assistance  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit.  Without  extending  the  consideration  of  this 
general  principle  beyond  our  race,  or  beyond  our 
present  condition  as  having  fallen  from  God  and 
holiness  ;  that  is  to  say,  from  a  state  of  provisional 
innocency,  as  was  the  case  with  our  first  parents ; 
because  we  have  become  heirs  of  a  distinctly  sinful 
nature,  or  a  natural  bias  to  sin,  which  Holy  Scrip- 
ture and  also  facts  declare  to  be  of  a  radically 
malignant  as  well  of  a  decided  character;  we  are 
absolutely  dependent  upon  the  direct,  personal  and 
supernatural  grace  of  God's  Holy  Spirit,  promised 
to  us  in  Holy  Scripture,  and  always  given  to  the 
true  seeker  after  God  in  obedience  to  the  law  of 
Eight, 

To  such,  aid  has,  without  doubt,  ever  been  given ; 
and  Holy  Scripture  does  but  establish  an  elementary 
principle  of  Theism  under  Xatural  Law,  when  it 
emphasizes,  as  it  does  fully,  both  in  the  Old  and  the 
Xew  Testaments,  such  a  quality  and  characteristic 
as  distinguishing  God's  people.  They  are  described 
as  "followers  after  righteousness,  and  seekers  of 
the  Lord "  (Is.  53 :  1).  So  our  Lord  voices  this 
principle  when  He  says,  "  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
you,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you,  for  every  one  that  asketh  receiv- 
eth,  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth,  and  to  him  that 
knocketh  it  shall  be  opened  "  (Matt,  7  :  7,  8).     Fur- 


36  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ther,  be  it  considered  that,  if  man,  as  a  sinner,  is  in- 
capable  of   redeeming   himself,   by  reason   of   the 
moral  power  of  sin  over  his  heart,  or  of  obeying, 
without  supernatural  aid,  the  law  of  Eight,  still 
less  is  he  able,  as  a  finite  creature,  intellectually  to 
find  out  God,  or  to  fathom  the  Infinite  Mind ;  and, 
least  of  all,  as  a  sinner,  to  have  communion,  whether 
by  knowledge  or  by  any  other  moral  and  spiritual 
quality,  with   Him.     Only  those  who,  as   sinners, 
humble  themselves  before  God,  can  be  so  exalted ; 
and  as  our  Lord  has  so  declared  and  testified,  so 
also  has  He  said,  "If  any  man  receive   not   the 
Kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  in  no- 
wise enter  therein  "  (Mark  10 :  15).     Of  this  prin- 
ciple, as  well  as  of  the  former,  it  may  be  affirmed, 
both  are   fundamental   principles  of   God's   moral 
government ;  they  have  obtained  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  they  obtain  now,  as  eternal  principles  of 
His  moral  law ;  and,  as  such,  are  incapable  of  mod- 
ification or  change  ;   they  remain  fixed,  whatever 
may  be  the  time,  manner  or  degree  of  Theistic  evi- 
dence in  its  progressive  manifestation,  consolidation 
and  ultimate  development.    The  method,  or  plan,  of 
man's  recovery,  as  a  fallen  being,  could,  on  theistic 
premises,  be  evolved  or  disclosed  to  man  in  no  other 
way  than  by  a  direct  or  supernatural   disclosure 
from   Jehovah   Himself.      But,   such   disclosure   is 
quite  independent  of  the  fact,  itself,  which,  as  an 
act  of  the  Divine  Mind,  is  the  effect  of  His  eternal 
counsel ;   and   the   gradational   disclosure   of   such 


NATURAL  RELIGION  37 

purpose  as  is  embodied  in  Holy  Writ  is  the  alone 
development  possible,  or  consistent  with  Biblical 
Theism. 

Of  the  radical  and  essential  distinction  between 
philosophical  and  Theistic  knowledge,  I  will  dis- 
course hereafter.  I  do  but  desire  here  to  emphasize 
the  fact  that  no  real  or  supposed  discoveries  or  de- 
velopments of  scientific  knowledge  (the  premises 
of  the  Divine  existence,  and  personality  being 
granted,  as  established  facts)  can,  by  any  possibility, 
affect  the  first  law-eternal  of  God's  being,  or  na- 
ture, as  it  is  identified  with  His  self-existence  and 
eternity  ;  and,  from  this  it  follows  that  His  counsels 
for  the  moral  government  of  mankind  are  one  and 
unchangeable,  and  they  apply,  not  merely  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  but  were  an  eternal  pur- 
pose of  the  Infinite.  (Rev.  13  :  8),  "  The  Lamb  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  (Eph.  3 :  11), 
"  The  eternal  purpose,  which  He  purposed  in  Christ 
Jesus,  our  Lord."  Otherwise  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion as  applied  to  theology  by  the  authors  of  "  Lux 
Mundi "  becomes  no  less  than  a  radical  issue  with 
Biblical  Theism  in  its  origin,  character  and  results. 

From  these  preliminary  considerations  it  may  be 
evident  that  objective  and  subjective  theism  must 
necessarily  have  one  uniform  character,  as  it  has 
existed  and  obtained  in  the  several  ages  of  the 
world's  history,  and  under  a  Divine  economy  of 
grace  and  probation.  In  other  words,  although 
"  God  spake  at  sundry  times,  and  in  divers  manners, 


3S  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

in  times  past,  to  the  fathers,  by  the  prophets,  and 
has,  in  these  last  days,  spoken  to  us  by  His  Son," 
this  fact  in  nowise  affects  the  unity  of  God's  law 
of  procedure,  or  the  elements  of  Biblical  Theism,  in 
doctrine,  fact  or  history. 

God's  method  of  salvation,  as  His  purpose,  is  one 
and  eternally  the  same,  and  absolutely  incapable  of 
mutation  or  change;  primarily  by  reason  of  His 
own  being  or  nature,  and  suborclinately,  or  deriva- 
tively because  of  the  moral  qualities  with  which 
He  has  endowed  us. 

I  close  these  considerations  of  the  evidence  for 
Natural  Religion  as  an  element  in  the  moral  gov- 
ernment of  God  by  remarking  that  the  primary, 
fundamental  law  of  reason,  as  the  second  law-eter- 
nal peculiar  to  man,  as  created  ;  as  it  is  divinely 
given,  does,  in  itself,  comprehend  a  prospect  and  an 
expectation  of  additional  evidence  from  the  supreme 
and  inexhaustible  source  of  all  things,  and  of  all  in- 
telligences ;  not  from  within  itself,  but  from  the 
Creator  as  the  great  giver,  and  the  supreme  intelli- 
gence and  the  perfect  good. 

We  may  regard  the  principle  enunciated  by  our 
Blessed  Lord,  as  the  great  Prophet  and  Teacher  of 
supernatural  truth  (as  He  is  also,  in  His  person, 
"  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  and  "  head  over 
all  things  to  the  Church  ")  as  expressive  of  a  truth 
fundamental  to  Theism  and  to  Natural  Religion, 
when  He  teaches  us  that  "  To  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance  "  ;  that  is  to 


NATURAL  RELIGION  39 

say,  that  to  "  the  generation  of  them  that  seek 
Him  " ;  to  the  church,  in  its  proper,  normal  and  es- 
sential character,  as  a  community  of  spiritual  wor- 
shipers ;  to  such,  individually,  in  hope,  and  to 
such,  as  a  spiritual  and  chosen  generation  did,  from 
the  beginning,  properly  appertain  the  reasonable 
expectation  of  cumulative  manifestations  and  reve- 
lations of  God,  as  also  of  ever  increasing  experi- 
ences as  facts,  in  evidence,  in  support  of  their  faith 
and  hope,  as  fixed  on  Him.  Lastly,  and  with 
special  reference  to  "  Lux  Muncli,"  I  would  say  that 
Natural  Religion  and  elementary  Theism  is 
counter,  in  its  essential  character  to  the  New  The- 
ology therein  set  forth  upon  the  basis  of  cosmical 
evolution ;  as  such  theory  is  counter  to  the  Divine 
personality,  and,  so,  to  Biblical  Theism ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  Natural  Religion,  as  representing 
elementary  Theism,  may  be  said  to  require,  as  also 
to  expect,  a  written  and  Divine  law-supernatural, 
in  development  of  God's  purposes  of  eternal  salva- 
tion, as  well  as  of  the  principles  of  His  moral 
government ;  as  such  development  is  in  perfect  con- 
sonance with  Theism,  as  grounded  upon  the  fact  of 
the  Divine  Personality,  and  essential  being  of  God, 
and  also  upon  man's  actual  need,  ontologically  and 
morally  considered,  to  receive  from  Him ;  and, 
specially  does  this  apply  to  thos~  who,  as  His  true 
worshipers,  in  the  ages  antecedent  to  the  Mosaic 
and  New  Testament  eras,  have  longed  for  and 
earnestly  desired  such  communications  from  Him, 


40      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

as  they  have  desired  conformity  to  His  character. 
Such,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  are  not  only  heirs  of 
a  just  and  reasonable  "  expectation,"  by  reason  of 
His  nature  and  personality  in  whom  they  put  their 
trust ;  but  they  are  also  the  heirs,  as  they  are  the 
subjects,  of  His  recorded  and  peculiar  promises. 


Synopsis  of  Chapter  II 

Our  first  proposition  under  this  head  is,  that 
God,  as  revealed  in  nature,  is  knowable.  This 
proposition  is  the  logical  sequence  of  our  conclu- 
sions from  Chapter  I.  We  have  concluded  that 
nature,  intrinsically  considered,  reveals  God,  and 
we  have  also  seen  that  this  conclusion  is  ratified 
by  Holy  Scripture,  and  is  in  unison  with  it.  I  will 
somewhat  amplify  and  particularize  these  general 
conclusions.  We  have  seen  that  the  moral 
axioms  clearly  deducible  from  the  objective  evi- 
dences disclose  to  man,  as  a  moral  agent,  the  pres- 
ence and  operation  of  a  Divine  law  of  right,  of 
which  God  is  the  Author  and  Original ;  and  that 
this  law  comes  to  him  as  the  proper  and  legitimate 
law  of  his  being,  and  presents  itself  to  him  under 
the  form  of  moral  obligation.  It  is  to  be  observed 
that,  in  the  discovery  of  this  law,  the  ontological 
and  moral  nature  of  man  is  a  main  factor,  and  man 
is,  himself,  made  or  adapted  to  the  evidence.  Fur- 
ther, we  trace  in  this  adaptation  the  presence  of  a 


NATURAL  RELIGION  41 

universal  Jaw  that  governs  all  the  cosmos.  There, 
we  everywhere  see  evidences  of  adaptation;  of 
means  suited  to  an  end  or  purpose  ;  and,  in  this  fact 
we  discover  that  man  is,  himself,  within  the  unity 
of  nature,  and  that  all  created  things  had  one 
author.  The  same  result  that  is  reached  by  a 
direct  appeal  to  man's  ontological  and  moral 
qualities  is  reached  by  analogical  inferences  from 
physical  laws.  The  efficacy  of  those  laws  and 
their  universality,  point  to  a  moral  lawgiver,  and 
they  demand  from  an  intelligent  moral  agent  his 
attentive  obedience  to  the  lessons  they  convey, 
as  they  are  addressed  to  him. 

These  are  the  necessary  and  inherent  evidences 
which  are  contained  in  and  inseparable  from  crea- 
tion itself.  This  evidence  is  present,  necessarily,  in 
every  part  of  the  habitable  world,  and  in  and  with 
every  individual  therein,  though  in  varying  degrees 
of  force  as  graduated  to  varying  degrees  of  physical 
and  mental  advantage  or  disadvantage,  arising 
from  varying  degrees  of  opportunity;  yet,  still 
leaving  a  necessary  minimum  of  evidence  and  of 
moral  responsibility. 

These,  I  say,  are  the  certain  and  fixed  evidences 
contained  in  natural  religion,  objective  and  subjec- 
tive, as  a  universal  heritage,  but,  with  this,  as  a 
starting  point,  and  as  a  basis,  we  have,  chronolog- 
ically and  historically,  a  developing  evidence  of  an 
immediate  and  supra-natural  character,  fortifying 
and    confirming   the   initial  evidence;  and,  in  the 


42      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Book  of  God,  we  trace  (1)  the  assertion  of  the 
validity  of  the  evidence  in  nature,  and  in  the 
human  conscience,  (2)  its  illustration,  and  (3)  its 
consolidation  and  unification. 

The  written  record,  in  chronological  and  historic 
order,  authenticates  and  unifies,  with  cumulative 
force,  the  evidence  that  is  primary,  fundamental  and 
unwritten,  and  so,  the  Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Eeve- 
lation,  comes  to  us  as  the  cumulation,  and  culmina- 
tion of  Theistic  evidence,  and  is  its  complementum, 
as  Theism  finds  its  climax  and  complementum 
in  Christianity.  As  I  have  stated,  at  the  outset, 
our  logical  conclusion  from  the  evidences  in  objec- 
tive nature,  as  presented  to  man  is,  that  God  is 
knowable ;  the  character  of  that  knowledge  and  its 
conditions,  I  have  stated  more  fully  in  the  follow- 
ing notes. 

It  will  be  sufficient,  here,  simply  to  give  a  sum- 
mary of  the  conclusions  that  follow  and  are  to  be 
deduced  from  this  one  central  fact  that  God  is 
knowable  by  man,  and,  of  its  consequent  obliga- 
tions. (1)  A  first  condition  of  such  knowledge  is 
that  man  must  obey  the  law  of  his  being,  and  exer- 
cise all  those  powers  with  which  God  has  endowed 
him.  In  other  words,  he  must  "diligently  seek 
Him."  (2)  It  is  fundamentally  necessary  that  he 
does  so  with  a  submissive  will,  or  a  readiness  to 
obey  the  evidence.  (3)  It  is,  also,  equally  neces- 
sary that  he  does  so  with  a  sincere  and  whole- 
hearted   purpose.     All    our   moral   conceptions   of 


NATURAL  RELIGION  43 

God,  all  the  evidence  that  nature  affords,  and  all 
the  declarations  in  Holy  Scripture  go  to  assure  us 
that,  under  such  conditions  God  is  not,  and  never 
has  been,  at  any  time,  or  in  any  place  sought  in 
vain.  Finally,  the  fact  is  to  be  stated  and  to  be 
emphasized,  that  under  no  other  conditions,  at  any 
time,  can  man  truly  know,  or  come  into  fellowship 
with  God. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  BEING  OF  GOD,  AS  RELATED  TO  HIS  MORAL 
GOVERNMENT 

We  have  determined  the  fact  and  the  character 
of  the  Divine  Personality  from  His  works  in  Crea- 
tion, and  from  their  subjective  results,  coupled  with 
those  moral  intuitions  which  arise  both  from  our 
ontological  character  and  from  the  objective 
evidence. 

The  soul  of  man,  as  we  have  seen,  is,  in  its  dis- 
tinctive nature,  fitted  to  be  governed  by  the  evi- 
dence of  God  objectively  presented  to  it.  It  is  an 
obvious  fact  that  both  the  Being  of  God,  and  the 
nature  of  the  human  soul,  must  be  prime  factors  in 
determining  the  nature  of  His  moral  government ; 
the  one  absolutely,  the  other  derivatively. 

We  may  say  that  (apart  from  the  Bible)  we  have 
two  sources  from  whence  we  derive  a  knowledge  of 
the  Being  of  God.  The  first  and  chief  of  these  is 
His  works,  as  Creator,  conjoined  with,  what  is  a 
necessary  sequence  therefrom,  that  is,  His  Provi- 
dence. The  works  of  God  direct  us  to  His  Per- 
sonality ;  to  a  perfect  intelligence,  a  perfect  good- 
ness, and  a  perfect  power ;  and  these,  as  represent- 
ing unitedly  an  all-perfect  Being. 

44 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  45 

The  Bible,  as  an  authoritative,  divine  and  super- 
natural revelation,  declares  and  amplifies  this.  But 
the  objective  evidence  from  nature  is  corroborated 
by  the  moral  intuitions  which  are  generic  to  man, 
ontologically  considered. 

Our  conceptions  of  God  which  we  may  call  in- 
herent, as  they  flow  from  right  reason  and  con- 
science, are  that  the  First  Cause  of  all  things  must 
necessarily  be  the  perfection  of  all  we  know  of 
wisdom,  goodness  and  all  moral  excellence.  These 
intuitions  are  given  by  Him  as  the  result  of  ob- 
jective evidence,  and,  as  the  result  of  His  creative 
power  upon  us,  and  they  call  for  the  perfection,  in 
Him,  of  all  that  we  can  know,  and  must  recognize 
as  good  and  excellent.  The  very  term,  virtue,  rep- 
resented to  the  heathen  nations  of  Greece  and 
Eome,  what  moral  goodness,  right,  or  holiness 
does  to  us.  All  these  qualities,  severally  and  dis- 
tributively,  represent  a  part,  or  aspect,  of  a  combina- 
tion which  we  can  describe  by  no  other  term  than 
a  Personality ;  an  All-Perfect  Being.  Thus,  what 
we  call  the  attributes  of  God,  are  only  parts,  or  as- 
pects, of  His  perfections,  and  are  derived  from,  or 
as  revealed  qualities,  adapted  to  our  finite  knowl- 
edge and  conceptions ;  as  we  reason  from  the  less 
to  the  greater.  First,  however,  let  us  notice  that 
these  several  qualities  of  perfection,  or  good  that 
we  ascribe  to  God,  are,  each  of  them,  perfect,  as 
they  exist  in  Him. 

One  aspect  of  the  Divine  Being,  as  manifested  to 


-±<;      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

us,  is  His  constancy,  or  immutability, — as  contrasted 
with  the  mutability  of  things  around  us,  and  with 
the  instability  and  faithlessness  of  man.  It  is  a 
prime  ground  of  confidence  and  of  comfort  to 
creatures  and  to  sinners. 

It  is  brought  out  for  our  instruction  and  comfort 
by  God  Himself,  in  Holy  Writ.  It  is  applied,  also 
to  the  Person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  being  the 
same  "yesterday,  to-day  and  forever."  It  is  next 
to  be  noticed  that  this  quality  and  attribute,  and  all 
other  perfections,  as  they  are  combined  and  unified 
in  God's  Personality,  so,  in  such  unification  and 
combination  the  acme  of  perfection  is  reached. 

For  this  reason,  God,  as  the  constant,  and  un- 
changeable Good,  in  His  manifestation  as  such  to  us, 
is  so  manifested  because  of  the  fact  of  His  self- 
existence.  He  is,  Himself,  the  uncaused.  He  is  the 
Everlasting  "  I  am  "  ;  otherwise,  He  were  not  God. 
So,  both  His  beneficence  and  immutability  are  as- 
pects of  His  self-existence,  and  self-existence  com- 
prehends and  contains  complete,  entire  and  eternal 
good. 

In  this  connection  I  would  recall  consideration 
of  the  fact  that  the  Personality  of  God  is  repre- 
sented by  Eternal  Right,  as  the  law  of  His  own 
Being.  God  is  the  Right,  as  distinguished  from 
the  Wrong,  as  He  is  the  Good,  as  distinguished 
from  the  Evil.  By  this  we  are  assured  that  God 
will  never  contravene  either  equity,  or  goodness, 
in  His  requirements  of  duty  from  man ;  what  we 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  4? 

ought  to  do,  as  contrasted  with  what  we  ought  not 
to  do ;  because  that  in  Him  they  each  exist  in 
perfect  ratio  and  proportion. 

Thus,  in  requiring  from  a  moral  agent  a  moral 
and  spiritual  obedience,  it  is  a  moral,  as  distinguished 
from  a  simply  intellectual  obedience,  and  the  moral 
requirement  of  obedience  so  characterized  is,  as  to 
degree,  regulated  by  the  degree  of  knowledge  and 
opportunity  given  to  them  individually,  or  collec- 
tively, "  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners." 
Such  variety  of  degrees  are,  and  have  been,  parts  of 
the  Divine  economy.  There  has  been,  from  the  be- 
ginning, a  progressive  unfolding  of  the  Divine  plan 
and  purpose;  but,  at  the  same  time,  a  necessary 
minimum  has  been  maintained,  which  has,  always, 
left  the  free  agent  responsible.  The  moral  sense  of 
Eight  and  Wrong  has  never  wanted  such  a  degree 
of  light  as,  in  perfect  consonance  with  the  character 
of  God,  left  man,  as  a  responsible  being,  and  the 
subject  of  moral  trial,  amenable  to  the  judgment  of 
Him  who,  as  a  condition  of  His  Being  and  charac- 
ter, will,  eventually,  reward  the  good  man  and  pun- 
ish the  evil-doer.  Also,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  while 
there  has  been  a  progressive  development  of  God's 
plan  of  moral  government  of  the  world,  which  has 
culminated  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  Saviour 
of  men,  there  has  been  no  change  in  the  prime  fac- 
tors of  such  government ;  and  the  inscrutability  of 
God,,  as  self-existent  and  eternal,  has  been  main- 
tained intact  as  an  element  of  His  Being,  and,  it  may 


±8  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

be  added,  as  an  element  also  of  His  government. 
"  Canst  thou,  by  searching,  find  out  God  ?  Canst 
thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ?  It  is 
higher  than  Heaven,  what  canst  thou  do  ?  It  is 
deeper  than  Hell,  what  canst  thou  know  ? "  (Job 
11:  7,  8,  9).  "His  ways  are  past  finding  out" 
(Rom.  11 :  33). 

Also,  as  a  prime  factor  in  the  case,  it  is  always  to 
be  remembered  that  the  sinfulness  of  sin  remains, 
not  only  in  the  abstract  character  of  moral  evil ; 
but  as  it  is  engrafted  by  the  Fall  of  Adam  on  all  his 
posterity.  This  factor  in  the  case,  modern  criticism 
would  disown  and  deny,  but,  as  it  is  a  foundation 
truth  of  the  Bible,  and  as  it  is  ratified  as  such  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  by  the  inspired  writer 
of  the  New  Testament  as  to  its  historical  source  and 
origin  and  as  a  dogmatic  truth  delivered  to  us  ;  so  it 
is  asserted  by  the  Ninth  Article  of  our  church,  as  a 
foundation  truth  of  our  Holy  religion,  and  as  an  ar- 
ticle of  our  Confession  and  belief. 

We  recognize  that  sin  is  essentially  what  it  always 
was,  since  Adam's  fall ;  that  it  is  the  "  fault  and  cor- 
ruption of  the  nature  of  every  man  that  naturally  is 
engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam  "  ;  and  that,  as 
an  "  infection  of  nature,  it  remains  even  in  them 
that  are  regenerate." 

These  are,  severally  the  premises  in  the  argument, 
as  in  the  moral  government  of  God. 

"  The  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
the  World "  (1  John  4 :  11).     "  The  Son  of  Man 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  49 

is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost " 
(Luke  19 :  10). 

The  major  premise  is,  that  God  is  the  Infinite 
Good ;  the  minor  premise  is  that  man,  as  a  sinner, 
is,  by  the  Fall,  alieniated  from  Him.  To  relieve 
such  need,  the  Divine  arm,  itself,  as  the  alone  suffi- 
cient source  of  help,  is  stretched  out.  The  moral 
government  of  God  is  required  to  be  such  as  shall, 
at  once,  glorify  Him,  as  God,  in  the  processes  of 
that  government,  while  making  redemption  avail- 
able to  man. 

These  premises  are  fundamental  to  Theism,  as  it 
applies  to  our  world,  and  this  consideration,  at  the 
outset  of  the  argument,  is  of  great  importance,  as 
introductory  to  that  which  is  to  follow.  In  remark- 
ing upon  the  primary  truth  of  the  Being  of  God,  I 
have  referred  to  Him  as  the  perfect  Good ;  I  did 
so,  however,  in  reference  to  His  natural  attribute  of 
self-existence,  as  the  law  natural,  and  distinctive  of 
His  being,  as  He  is  uncaused.  I  would  further  re- 
mark that  the  natural  attributes  of  God's  necessary 
immutability,  and,  also  of  His  inscrutability,  as  they 
are  truths  fundamental  to  Theism,  have  a  most  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  Theistic  argument,  as  such 
argument  is  in  contrast  with  the  Theodicy  of  "  Lux 
Mundi."  In  the  previous  chapter  I  have  stated  the 
foundation  of  the  evidence,  objective  and  subjective, 
for  the  Being  and  Personality  of  God,  and  have  re- 
ferred to  the  fact  that  the  Bible,  as  an  inspired  and 
supernatural  revelation  from  God,  does  but  amplify 


50  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

and  consolidate  the  evidence,  as  it  gathers  up  all 
Theistic  evidences  in  an  accumulated  whole.  I 
have,  also,  hereinbefore  summarized  the  Theistic  po- 
sition, as  to  the  Being  of  God,  and  His  moral  gov- 
ernment, as  related  to  such  evidence.  It  is  neces- 
sary, now,  over  against  the  Orthodox,  Biblical  and 
Theistic  position,  to  place  the  Theodicy  of  "Lux 
Mundi,"  as  stated  by  its  authors.  I  shall,  in  so  doing, 
quote  chiefly  from  the  essay  on  "  The  Christian  Idea 
of  God,"  as  such  essay  stands  related  to  their  theod- 
icy and,  also,  to  the  principles  of  Biblical  Theism ; 
and  afterwards  make  such  deductions  as  seem  to  me 
necessary  and  just  in  the  premises. 

The  essayist  has  some  very  broad  and  bold  state- 
ments to^make  at  the  outset,  as  to  the  effects  of  the 
new  and  nationalistic  Criticism,  and  he  makes  the 
statement  that  as  faith  is  challenged  by  it,  so  the 
traditional  or  Biblical  idea  of  God,  is  feeling  the 
effects  of  it.  I  will,  however,  proceed  to  make 
verbatim  quotations  from  the  essay,  premising  only 
the  fact  that,  upon  page  two,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
his  arguments,  he  states  a  principle  that  underlies 
it,  as  a  whole,  and  also  the  whole  of  the  volume  of 
which  it  is  a  part.  He  claims  that  scientific  truth, 
or  that  which  is  hypothetically  claimed  to  be  such, 
is  homogeneous  with  supernatural  or  inspired  truth, 
as  given  to  us  by  God,  in  Holy  Scripture.  He  then 
proceeds  to  establish  a  radical  opposition  between 
religion  and  philosophy ;  and  as  in  the  term  "  relig- 
ion "  he  includes  with  all  other   systems,  that  of 


THE   BEING  OF  GOD  51 

Theism,  or  belief  in  the  God  of  the  Bible,  and  also 
the  Bible  itself,  and  especially  the  Old  Testament ; 
so,  by  a  process  of  "  evolution  by  antagonism,"  as 
he  terms  it,  to  purify  what  he  considers  to  be,  and 
what  he  designates  as  "immoral  conceptions  of 
God."  Having  so  disposed  of  the  distinctive  char- 
acter and  authority  of  Holy  Scripture,  he  proceeds 
to  apply  the  principle  of  evolution  by  antagonism 
to  its  teaching  concerning  the  character  and  person- 
ality of  God.  He  states  that  "  in  religions,  there  is 
a  survival  of  the  fittest,"  and  "this  is  reached  in 
that  religion  which  assimilates  philosophy  by  fusion 
with  it,  so  as  to  promote  moral  and  intellectual 
truth  "  !  Passing  over  some  statements  as  to  Kef- 
ormation  theology,  Calvinistic  doctrine,  and  the 
immorality  of  Roman  Catholic  theology ;  (and  he 
classes  them  all  in  about  one  category,  pp.  58-66) 
he  says,  (p.  6Y)  that  "it  is  the  function  of  morality 
to  purify  the  religious  idea  of  God."  Upon  page 
sixty -eight  he  says,  "  The  religious  idea  of  God 
must  justify  itself  to  the  highest  known  morality, 
and  no  amount  of  authority,  ecclesiastical  or  civil, 
will  make  men  worship  an  immoral  God."  "  And, 
already  that  truth  has  thrown  back  its  light  upon 
questions  of  the  Old  Testament  morality.  We  no 
longer  say,  "  It  is  in  the  Bible  approved,  or  allowed 
of  God,  and  therefore  it  must  be  right." 

I  notice,  here,  the  false  statement  of  the  orthodox 
and  theistic  position.  False  and  unjust  inferences 
are,  in  some  cases,  drawn  as  to  the  judicial  acts  of 


52  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  Most  High ;  while  in  other  cases  it  is  falsely 
inferred  that  what  the  Bible  delivers  to  us,  as  a 
faithful  record  of  facts  of  history,  are,  because  of 
that  record,  also  facts  allowed,  or  approved  of  God. 
The  essayist  adds  also  (p.  68),  "  But  it  (i.  e.,  the 
religious  idea  of  God)  is  challenged  not  alone  by 
conscience,  but  by  the  speculative  reason."  And 
upon  page  sixty-nine  he  says,  "  If  then,  the  idea  of 
God  is  to  appeal  to  both  the  religious  consciousness 
and  speculative  reason,  it  must  be  by  claiming 
philosophy  for  religion,  not  by  claiming  religion 
for  philosophy."  That  is  to  say,  that  religion  must 
accept  philosophy  as  homogeneous,  by  fusing  itself 
with  it,  and  it  can  only  do  so  by  eliminating  from 
itself,  or  rejecting  the  supernatural  and  peculiar 
element;  or,  in  other  words,  its  distinctive  and 
Divine  element,  or  its  peculiar  and  special  inspira- 
tion by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

I  speak  here  of  course  of  that  which  is  properly 
called  religion,  as  in  conformity  to,  and  governed 
by  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  homogeneity  here,  by 
the  essayist,  declared,  does,  actually,  make  philoso- 
phy to  be  necessary,  and  to  be  paramount  to  Holy 
Scripture.  Upon  page  seventy  he  says,  "There 
was  no  fusion,  as  yet,  of  Jewish  and  Greek 
thought ;  only  each  was  learning  to  understand  the 
other,  and  unconsciously  preparing  the  way  for  the 
higher  synthesis  of  Christianity."  That  is  to  say, 
that    evolution    was    to    produce    it.     Upon    page 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  53 

seventy-eight  he  says,  "  This  doctrine  of  the  Omni- 
presence of  God,  as  conceived  by  religion,  had  yet 
to  be  fused  with  the  philosophic  doctrine  of  im- 
manence." This  is  made  to  square  with  mental 
evolution  as  opposed  to  supernatural  revelation  in 
Holy  Scripture.  Upon  page  eighty-two  he  says, 
"The  immanence  of  God  in  nature,  the  higher 
Pantheism,  is  a  truth  essential  to  true  religion,  as 
it  is  to  true  philosophy."  "  The  mission  of  modern 
science  was  designed  of  God,  (!)  to  bring  home  to 
our  unmetaphysical  ways  of  thinking  the  great 
truth  of  the  Divine  immanence  in  creation,  which 
is  not  less  essential  to  the  Christian  idea  of  God, 
than  to  a  philosophical  view  of  Nature."  So,  also, 
"  Our  modes  of  thoughts  are  becoming  increasingly 
Greek ;  and  the  flood  which  is,  in  our  day,  surging 
up  against  the  traditional  idea  of  God,  is  prevail- 
ingly Pantheistic  in  tone." 

Upon  page  eighty,  he  makes  the  bold  statement 
that  "Even  amongst  those  who  believe  that  Chris- 
tian morality  is  true,  there  are  those  to  be  found 
who  have  convinced  themselves  that  they  have 
intellectually  outgrown  the  Christian  faith."  This, 
be  it  understood,  is  the  logical  result  of  their 
premises,  in  every  case,  where  they  are  held.  Upon 
page  eighty-three,  he  says,  "  It  seemed  as  if  tradi- 
tional Christianity  was  bound  up  with  the  view 
that  God  is  wholly  separate  from  the  world,  and 
not  immanent  in  it." 

"  It  remains  then  for  Christianity  to  proclaim  the 


54      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

new  truth  (i.  e.,  evolution)  and  meet  the  new 
demands  by  a  fearless  reassertion  of  its  doctrine  of 
God."  Again,  "He  (God)  is  the  good  to  which  all 
creation  moves;  the  object  alike  of  religion  and 
philosophy,  the  eternal  energy  of  the  natural  world, 
and  the  immanent  Reason  of  the  universe."  So, 
page  eighty-five,  "  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  was 
unfolded  (i.  e.,  evolved),  in  order  to  satisfy,  alike, 
the  demands  of  religion  and  of  reason."  "The 
gradual  revelation  of  God,  answering  to  the  grow- 
ing needs  and  capacities  of  man."  "  Eeason  in- 
terprets religion  to  itself;  and,  by  interpreting, 
verifies  and  confirms  it."  "Eeligion  therefore 
claims  as  its  own,  the  new  light  which  metaphysics 
and  science  are,  in  our  day,  throwing  upon  the 
truth  of  the  immanence  of  God."  "It  dares  to 
maintain  that  the  fountain  of  wisdom  and  religion, 
alike,  is  God ;  and  if  these  two  streams  shall  turn 
aside  from  Him,  both  must  assuredly  run  dry  ; 
for  human  nature  craves  to  be  both  religious 
and  rational,  and  the  life  that  is  not  both  is 
neither." 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  term  "  religion," 
or  "  religious,"  does  not,  as  used  by  "  Lux  Mundi " 
mean  Theism,  or  Christianity  distinctively  and 
solely,  but  it  includes  all  systems  of  religion,  alike, 
which  they  consider  homogeneous  in  character, 
also  their  subjective  results.  Also  in  the  Theodicy 
of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  while  this  particular  essay  deals 
negatively  with  the  subject  of  the  "  idea  of  God," 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  55 

and  attacks  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  His  Person- 
ality, in  the  assertion  of  "  the  higher  Pantheism," 
it  also  directly  attacks  the  acts  of  God's  Supreme 
Personality  as  Moral  Governor,  and  the  doctrines 
that  are  peculiar  to,  and  distinctive  of  Theism. 
Two  of  these  doctrines  are  scornfully  reprobated  as 
immoral,  by  the  author  of  this  essay, — i.  e.,  the 
doctrine  of  God's  Sovereignty  in  Election  to  Salva- 
tion ;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  and  the 
substitutionary  and  vicarious  sufferings  and  death 
of  Christ.  This  last  is  made  the  subject  of  special 
attack  in  a  separate  essay,  in  which  the  substitu- 
tionary death  of  Christ  is  distinctly  repudiated,  and 
His  office  as  Saviour  of  men  nullified. 

Such  is  the  attitude  of  the  Evolutionary  Theory 
of  the  Being  and  Moral  Government  of  God.  Our 
first  reflection  upon  it  is  that  the  author  of  the  par- 
ticular essay  considered  here  (as  indeed  of  all  the 
essayists)  aims  at  certitude ;  nominally,  by  means 
of  a  fusion  of  philosophy  with  religion,  but,  really, 
this  result  is  aimed  at  by  philosophy,  alone.  It  re- 
mains, however,  true  that  our  knowledge  of  God, 
and  of  Divine  Truth,  even  by  Christ,  is  relative, 
and  not  absolute ;  also,  that  this  knowledge  is  not 
and  cannot  be  attained  by  philosophy  (the  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God)  in  part,  or  in  whole.  It 
rests  upon  no  human  foundation.  Also,  God  re- 
mains, after  revelation  of  Himself  in  Jesus  Christ, 
and  after  the  completion  of  the  New  Testament 
Canon    of    Holy    Scripture ;    He   remains,   as   He 


56  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

always  Avas, — the  same,  Wonderful,  and  Incompre- 
hensible Jehovah ! 

A  further  consideration  of  the  trend  and  require- 
ments of  the  philosophical  criticism  is,  that  it 
asserts  for  itself  a  Theodicy  that  is  not  only  unbib- 
lical,  and  also  antitheistic,  in  relation  to  the  first 
principles  of  Theism,  but  also  illogical.  That  is  to 
say,  illogical  from  its  theological  premises  and 
standpoint  as  claiming  to  represent  the  articles 
of  the  Christian  faith.  The  hypothesis  to  which 
the  authors  of  "  Lux  Mundi "  stand  committed, 
and,  in  conformity  with  which,  as  the  premises  in 
their  scheme  of  a  Theodicy, — such  scheme  as 
framed  is,  logically,  consistent  only,  with  Panthe- 
ism, as  a  thinly  veiled  substitute  for  atheism.  Its 
necessary  premise  may  be  found  in  its  conclusion. 
It  is  necessary  to  their  premise  to  attack  the  first 
element  of  Theism,  contained  in  the  first  article  of 
our  church.  "  There  is  one  living  and  true  God, 
everlasting,  without  body,  parts,  or  passions,  the 
Maker  and  Preserver  of  all  things,  visible  and 
invisible." 

This  cardinal  element  of  Theism  includes  not 
only  the  character  of  God,  but  His  Personality  ; 
and  this  is  attacked  by  them  in  more  than  one 
of  His  attributes,  essential  to  His  Being,  and  so  ex- 
plicitly declared  both  in  nature  and  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. They,  themselves,  describe  their  doctrine  of 
God's  immanence  in  creation,  as  "the  higher  Pan- 
theism," and  declare,  also,  that  "the  flood,  which 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  57 

in  our  clay  is  rising  up  against  the  traditional  (or 
Biblical)  idea  of  God,  is  increasingly  Pantheistic  in 
tone." 

They  cannot  get  over  philosophic  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  their  hypothesis,  by  which  certitude  as 
to  God  and  to  Divine  things  (I  mean  philosophic 
demonstration,  and  not  the  certitude  of  a  reasonable 
faith,  resting  on  sufficient  evidence)  is  denied  to 
man,  without  asserting  an  actual  superiority  for, 
and  necessity  of  philosophy  (false  or  true) ;  so  that 
inspired,  or  supernatural  Truth,  representing,  be  it 
remembered,  the  Authority  and  Personality  of  God, 
must  be  made  out  to  be  homogeneous  with  it,  and, 
even  subservient  to  it ;  but,  also,  the  necessary  con- 
ceptions of  the  human  mind  as  to  what  is  essential 
to  the  fact  of  a  Self-Existent  Being,  viz.,  that  of  a 
Perfect,  as  well  as  a  Supreme  Personality  ; — what 
we  are  taught  concerning  Him,  from  His  works  in 
creation,  and  most  explicitly  by  the  historic  and 
dogmatic  teachings  of  His  inspired  Word,  as  rati- 
fied by  the  authority  and  personal  teaching  of  His 
Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  must,  all,  give  way 
to  the  governing  principle  which  they  have  laid 
down,  in  evolution  as  an  absolute,  and  universal 
law  in  the  order  and  government  of  the  world, 
physically  and  morally  ;  and  the  very  character  of 
and  the  conditions  under  which  a  Deity  will  be  al- 
lowed, or  acknowledged  to  rule  the  universe,  is 
required  to  be  regulated  by  it. 

Is  it  not  logically  demonstrated  that  such  a  sys- 


58  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

tern  can  be  described  by  no  other  term  than  anti- 
theistic  and  anti-christian  ? 

Herbert  Spencer  is  a  true  witness  when  he  says 
that,  pressed  to  a  logical  issue,  evolution  cannot  be 
made  to  consist  with  the  acknowledgment  of  a  Per- 
sonal First  Cause. 

The  consideration  of  the  attitude  of  "  Lux  Mundi " 
to  other  elements  of  Theism  will  come  up  in  their 
order,  in  the  course  of  our  positive  argument. 

I  cannot  leave  this  particular  subject  without 
giving  emphatic  denial  of  my  assent  to  a  cardinal 
principle  in  the  Theodicy  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  i.  <?., 
that  philosophic  truth,  as  proceeding  from  the  hu- 
man mind,  is  homogeneous  in  character  with  the 
Bible  as  the  Book  of  God ;  as  a  supernatural, 
Divine  and  authoritative  communication  from  God, 
and  revelation  of  His  character  and  will.  As  a 
Biblical  Theist,  I  take  my  stand  in  absolute  and 
unqualified  acceptance  of,  and  in  reliance  upon 
God's  Holy  Word,  as  the  alone  and  final  criterion 
of  Divine  Truth,  and  I  cite  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul, 
under  Divine  inspiration,  when  in  the  first  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  he  puts  such  philosophical  wis- 
dom in  contrast  with  God's  wisdom  ;  and  where  he 
says,  "  Where  is  the  wise  ?  Where  is  the  scribe  ? 
Where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ?  Hath  not 
God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?  For, 
after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wis- 
dom knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolish- 
ness of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe  "  (1  Cor. 


THE  BEING  OF  GOD  59 

19:  20,  21).  Moreover,  in  the  nineteenth  verse  of 
that  chapter  God  has  declared  His  purpose  to  "  des- 
troy the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  to  bring  to  noth- 
ing the  understanding  of  the  prudent."  The 
authors  of  "  Lux  Mundi "  will  reply  to  this  (and 
consistently  too,  with  their  hypothesis  of  evolution), 
"  The  world  has  grown  wiser"  ;  "We  are  living  in 
the  nineteenth  century  ! "  In  effect,  the  Bible  is 
antiquated  and  out  of  date  !  In  the  language  of 
the  essayist  on  "  the  Christian  idea  of  God," 
"  There  are  those  to  be  found,  even  amongst  those 
who  believe  that  Christian  morality  is  true,  who 
have  convinced  themselves  that  they  have  outgrown 
the  Christian  faith."     Can  anything  be  plainer  ? 


CHAPTEE  IV 

THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD,  AS  RELATED  TO  HIS 
MORAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  TO  THE  PANTHE- 
ISTIC DOCTRINE  OF  IMMANENCE  IN  CREATION 

The  Providence  of  God,  logically  considered,  is 
a  necessary  sequence  from  His  being  and  per- 
sonality. 

The  evidence  present,  both  in  the  works  of  na- 
ture, and  in  man's  moral  consciousness,  is  fortified 
by  the  judicial  and  mandatory  action  of  the  faculty 
of  God — consciousness ;  and  such  combined  evi- 
dences are  a  sufficient  appeal  to  his  intellectual  and 
critical  faculty,  as  a  moral  agent ;  yet,  as  these  evi- 
dences, powerful  and  sufficient  though  they  be,  do 
not  assume  such  authority  as  to  infringe  upon  the 
necessary  character  of  free-agency  ;  but  leave  room 
for,  as  they  appeal  to  the  faith  of  a  voluntary  and 
intelligent  being ;  so  is  it  to  be  said  of  the  fact  and 
of  the  doctrine  of  Divine  Providence.  Such  doc- 
trine, as  it  rests  upon  fact,  rests  upon  evidence,  and 
upon  trustworthy  evidence  ;  yet,  the  evidence,  in 
this  case,  as  in  the  former,  requires,  but  justly  re- 
quires faith.  So  must  all  moral  truth,  as  it  proceeds 
from  God.  Without  such  a  faith  all  the  facts  of 
Divine  superintendence,  as  of  the  Divine  existence, 

60 


THE  PKOVIDEACE  OF  GOD  Gl 

will  have  no  real  substance.  Although,  in  ignoring 
the  presence  and  actings,  mediate  or  immediate,  of 
the  Divine  supernatural,  reason  and  truth  may  be 
violated ;  whether  the  resistance  to  truth  be  overt 
and  palpable,  or  whether  it  be  of  a  more  modified 
or  disguised  character,  yet,  if  the  "  eye  "  of  the  soul 
be  not  "  single  "  ;  if  the  Ego  of  the  man  be  arrayed 
against  the  evidence,  his  whole  ontological  and 
moral  faculties,  as  a  responsible  being,  will  be  u  full 
of  darkness."  I  would,  then,  merely  say,  in  the 
first  place  that,  on  the  same  premises  as  we  rest  the 
fact  that  "  there  is  one  living  and  true  God,  ever- 
lasting," we  rest  the  no  less  certain  fact  of  His  per- 
sonal, immediate  and  perfect  superintendence  and 
disposal  of  all  the  works  of  His  hands.  The  being 
and  personality  of  God,  and  the  Providence  of  God, 
as  a  fact,  are  in  the  closest  possible  connections. 
As  the  nature  of  that  Being  and  the  fact  of  that 
Divine  Personality  is  of  primary  consequence ;  as 
we  have  arrived  at  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  so 
great  and  glorious  a  Personality  and  First  Cause  of 
all  things  ;  as  such  Personality  is  above,  beyond 
and  prior  to  ;  as  He  is  absolutely  distinct  from 
everything  we  see  or  know  of ;  as  He  is  the  abso- 
lute Cause  of  all ;  so,  upon  this  basis,  and  from  this 
fact,  we  now  proceed  to  state  that  such  Providence 
as  we  recognize  and  declare,  does  manifest  and  ex- 
hibit His  transcendent  perfections:  and,  while  such 
supervision  and  disposal  is  exercised  over  all  His 
creation,  it  is  exercised  in  a  most  marked  and  pe- 


02  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

culiar  manner  over  man,  as  he  is  made  (ontologic- 
ally)  in  the  image  of  God. 

While  it  is  true  that  any  real  and  just  conception 
of  a  Supreme  First  Cause  must,  in  the  abstract,  in- 
clude and  require  a  conception  of  His  necessary 
transcendence,  as  of  His  Personality,  it  is  to  be  re- 
marked that,  in  very  many  places  in  Holy  Writ, 
God  states  this  transcendence  in  the  strongest  pos- 
sible manner.  He  states  it  as  an  abstract,  inherent 
and  primary  fact, — apart  from  its  actings  and 
operation ;  but,  He  also  enforces  and  applies  it,  as 
so  operative.  "  I,  even  I,  am  Jehovah,  and  beside 
Me  there  is  no  Saviour.  I  have  declared  and  have 
saved,  and  I  have  shewed  when  there  was  no 
strange  God  among  you ;  therefore,  ye  are  My 
witnesses,  saith  Jehovah,  that  I  am  God.  Yea,  be- 
fore the  day  was  I  am  He,  and  there  is  none  that 
can  deliver  out  of  My  hand  ;  I  will  work  and  who 
shall  let  it "  (Is.  43  :  11,  12,  13 ;  also  45  :  5,  6,  7). 

While  "  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs  "  were, 
no  doubt,  designed  of  God  to  emphasize  His  Per- 
sonality and  oversight,  they  were  but  the  extra- 
ordinary manifestations  of  an  actual,  regular  and 
constant,  but  not  the  less  personal  and  transcendent 
superintendence,  and  disposal  of  all  His  creation ; 
although  such  manifestations  are,  as  well  as  His 
regular  and  constant  care  is,  specially  directed  unto 
Man. 

The  way  in  which  His  providence  and  care  is  re- 
ferred to  in  Holy  Scripture,  at  large,  is  concurrent 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  63 

testimony  to   establish  the  same  truth,  as  to  the 
character  of  such  supervision. 

It  is  manifest,  from  such  references  and  descrip- 
tions, as  they  pervade  sacred  history,  that  such 
Providence,  although  a  fixed  and  primary  truth  of 
Natural  Religion,  yet,  as  it  manifests  and  declares 
all  the  Divine  perfections,  is  nevertheless  occupied 
as  certainly,  as  pervasively  and  as  perfectly  with 
the  one  individual,  as  if  he,  or  she,  only,  were  the 
subject  of  such  care,  instead  of  but  one  of  a  multi- 
tude that  cannot  be  numbered ;  yet,  equally  and 
perfectly  known  of  and  cared  for  by  Almighty  God. 
This  is  stated  in  general  terms  in  Holy  Scripture. 
"The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in  everyplace  beholding 
the  evil  and  the  good  "  (Pro v.  15  :  3).  "  The  eyes 
of  the  Lord  run  to  and  fro  throughout  the  whole 
earth  to  shew  Himself  strong  on  behalf  of  them 
whose  hearts  are  perfect  towards  Him  "  (1  Chron. 
15 :  9).  "  I,  the  Lord,  search  the  heart,  I  try  the 
reins,  even  to  give  every  man  according  to  his  ways, 
and  according  to  the  fruit  of  his  doings  "  (Jer.  17 :  10). 
"  From  Heaven  did  the  Lord  behold  the  earth, 
to  hear  the  groaning  of  the  prisoner,  to  loose 
them  that  are  appointed  to  death"  (Ps.  102  :  20,  21). 
So  in  Ps.  107,  the  Psalmist  discourses  of  God's 
varied  providences  over  all  estates  and  conditions 
of  men.1     To  proceed  to  particular  instances.     Let 

1  Good  George  Herbert,  in  his  Priest  to  the  Temple,  has  wisely 
discoursed  on  the  ''  Parson's  consideration  of  Providence." 

He  gives  what  we  may  designate  as  a  full  description  of  its 


64  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

us  first  notice  the  case  of  Enoch.  He  "  walked 
with  God,  and  was  not,  for  God  took  him  "  (Gen. 
5  :  24).  So  God  said  of  Noah,  "  Noah  found  grace 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord.  Noah  was  a  just  man,  and 
perfect  in  his  generations ;  and  Noah  walked  with 
God  "  (Gen.  6  :  8,  9). 

Of  him  it  is  further  said  that  God  expressed  His 
cognizance  and  approval  when  He  told  him  to  enter 
into  the  ark ;  "  For  thee  have  I  seen  righteous  before 
Me  in  this  generation  "  (Gen.  7  :  1).  On  the  other 
hand,  we  are  told  that  "  God  looked  on  the  earth 

varied  aspects.  He  says  that  "God  hath  and  exercise  th  a  three- 
fold power  in  everything  that  concerns  man.  The  first  is  a  sus- 
taining power;  the  second  is  a  governing  powTer;  the  third,  a 
spiritual  power.  To  the  first,  he  refers  the  ordinary  and  settled 
laws  of  creation,  providing  for  man's  sustenance.  To  the  second 
he  refers  those  personal  intercourses  hy  which,  in  His  sovereignty, 
He  can  give  or  withhold  as  He  sees  fit."  As  illustrating  the  third 
aspect  of  God's  providence,  referred  to  hy  Herbert,— viz.,  His  over- 
ruling providence,  some  instances  of  those  which  pervade  Holy 
Scripture,  may  he  now  given.  In  the  107th  Psalm,  David  says, 
"  He  turneth  a  fruitful  land  into  barrenness  for  the  wickedness  of 
them  that  dwell  therein.  Again,  He  turneth  the  wilderness  into  a 
fruitful  land,  and  maketh  water  springs  of  a  dry  ground  ' '  (vs.  34,  35). 

To  the  third,  or  spiritual  power  of  God's  providence,  Herbert  re- 
fers the  fact  that  He  makes  "all  things  to  work  together  for  good, 
to  them  that  love  God,"  while,  to  the  wicked,  "He  curses  their 
blessings,"  and  makes  them,  "in  the  fulness  of  their  sufficiency  to 
be  in  straits." 

And  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  in  the  exercise  of  His  governing 
power,  either  to  the  righteous,  or  to  the  wicked,  in  giving,  or  in 
withholding,  His  Sovereign  will,  in  the  transcendent,  and  often  in- 
scrutable exercise  of  His  supreme  perfections,  and  prerogative,  is 
immediately  and  directly  declared. 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  65 

and  behold  it  was  corrupt;  for  all  flesh  had  cor- 
rupted his  way  upon  the  earth  "  (Gen.  6  :  12).  Of 
Abraham  God  said,  "  I  know  Abraham  that  he  will 
command  his  children  and  his  household  after  him, 
and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord  to  do 
justice  and  judgment,  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon 
Abraham  that  which  He  hath  spoken  of  him  "  (Gen. 
18  :  19).  The  promises  made  to  Abraham  were  con- 
firmed to  Isaac  and  Jacob. 

To  Jacob  God  said,  when  he  appeared  to  him  at 
Bethel,  "  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  in  all 
places  whither  thou  goest,  and  will  bring  thee  again 
unto  this  land ;  for  I  will  not  leave  thee  until  I 
have  done  that  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee  of  " 
(Gen.  28 :  15).  The  story  of  Joseph,  and  of  God's 
singular  providence  over  him,  as  it  is  intensely  pa- 
thetic, it  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  particular 
and  pervasive  providence  of  God. 

It  is  iterated  and  reiterated, "  The  Lord  was  with 
Joseph."  In  like  manner  the  subsequent  history  of 
the  patriarch,  as  it  declares  the  fulfilment  of  God's 
promises,  is  also  marvelously  illustrative  of  His 
providence  and  paternal  care.  Moreover,  it  is  true, 
also,  that  the  history  of  individual  men  without  the 
pages  of  inspiration,  and  also  facts  within  our  own 
personal  knowledge  and  experience,  go  to  further 
illustrate  and  declare  the  wondrous,  transcendent 
and  supernatural  agency  of  Him  "  In  whom  wTe  live 
and  have  our  being."  God  confided  to  Abraham 
His  own  purposes  and  disposal  in  relation  to  his 


66  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

posterity,  in  the  future, — the  privations  they  should 
undergo,  and  their  subsequent  entrance  into  the 
promised  land.  .All  this  expresses  and  declares  the 
extraneous  and  transcendent  operations  of  All- 
Perfect  Being.  I  will  give  but  one  or  two  illustra- 
tions and  instances.  The  overthrow  of  Ahithophei's 
counsel,  although  brought  about  by  Hushai's  in- 
strumentality, and  at  David's  suggestion  to  Hushai, 
is  declared  to  have  been  "  of  the  Lord,'1  who  had 
"  appointed  (thus)  to  defeat  the  good  counsel  of 
Ahithophel,  to  the  intent  that  He  might  bring  evil 
upon  Absalom"  (2  Sam.  17  :  14).  Also,  thus,  be  it 
noted  God  answered  the  prayer  of  David  "  O  Lord, 
I  pray  Thee,  turn  the  counsel  of  Ahithophel  into 
foolishness  ! "  (2  Sam.  15  :  31).  So,  we  are  told  of 
the  division  of  the  kingdom,  after  Solomon's 
death. 

It  was  in  pursuance  of  an  expressed  purpose  of 
God  ;  and  when  the  king  Rehoboam  assembled  an 
army  to  reduce  the  ten  tribes  to  subjection,  She- 
maiah  was  instructed  of  God  to  say  to  him  and  to 
the  house  of  Judah,  "  Ye  shall  not  do  this ;  return 
every  man  to  his  house,  for  this  thing  is  of  me" 
(1  Kings  13  :  24). 

To  Cyrus,  God  said,  "I  have  surnamed  thee, 
though  thou  hast  not  known  Me  "  (Is.  45  :  4). 

In  short,  while  the  Shekinah,  which  led  the  Is- 
raelites in  their  journe}Ts  was  a  standing  expression 
of  God's  presence  with  them,  and  of  His  Providence 
over  them ;  and  His  guidance,  in  particular  cases, 


THE   PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  67 

was  to  be  sought  and  enquired  for,  by  Urim  and 
Thummim  ;  to  fail  to  make  this  latter  enquiry,  as 
occasion  arose,  was  a  sin  against  Jehovah ;  as  when 
the  Israelites  made  peace  with  the  Gibeonites ; 
"  And  the  men  took  of  their  victuals  and  asked  not 
counsel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  "  (Joshua  9  :  14). 
To  attempt  to  exhaust  the  evidence  would  be  to 
transcribe  a  large  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
I  shall  therefore  proceed,  from  this  notice  of  the 
transcendency  of  God's  Providence,  to  a  similar 
notice  that  such  transcendence  is  characterized 
by  all  the  elements  of  the  Divine  Personality,  as 
Supernatural.  I  will  but  summarize  this,  as  fol-. 
lows  :  We  see,  in  the  general  actings  of  God's 
Providence  as  historically  set  forth  in  the  Bible, 
and  it  may  be  added,  as  ratified  by  Christian  ex- 
perience, (a)  wisdom,  (b)  power,  (c)  omnipresence, 
(d)  justice,  (e)  love,  (f)  inscrutability,  and,  lastly, 
spirituality  and  pervasiveness.  I  do  not  intend  to 
comment  upon  these  several  elements  or  aspects  of 
Divine  Providence ;  sufficient  to  say  that,  as  they 
are  aspects  of  His  Divine  Personality,  they  are  in- 
separable from  each  other,  as  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow are  from  a  beam  of  light ;  they  are  elements 
of  God's  Being,  and,  so,  of  His  acts  and  operations, 
and  especially  as  directed  to  responsible  man.  I 
desire  to  direct  special  attention  to  two  features  of 
God's  Providence,  and,  first,  to  speak  of  its  spir- 
ituality, and  pervasiveness.  Viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  Bible,  as  an  authentic  record  of 


68  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

facts,  whether  those  facts  are  specially  declarative 
of  one  aspect,  or  of  another  aspect  of  the  Divine 
character,  they  manifest  a  spirituality  and  a  per- 
vasiveness that  is  distinctive  and  Divine ;  whether 
it  applies  to  power,  to  love,  to  knowledge,  to  wis- 
dom, to  truth,  or  to  equity ;  each  and  all,  spiritual, 
perfect  and  pervasive. 

This,  be  it  remembered,  is  Divine  character,  in  its 
operations.  Nothing  is  mechanical  or  stereotyped  ; 
it  is  the  plastic,  sensitive,  and  diffusive  action  and 
pulsation  of  forceful  and  perfect  life. 

So,  too,  of  the  other  feature  which  is  specially  to 
be  considered.  It  is  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
Deity,  and  is  an  essential  element,  identified  with 
the  Self-Existent,  and  Eternal  One,  and  synonymous 
of  God  as  the  All-Perfect;  viz.,  His  inscruta- 
bility. 

Let  us  remember  that  we  have  to  do  with  the 
Infinite  mind,  and  it  is  with  Him,  infinity  in  every- 
thing. "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ? 
Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  to  perfection  ? 
It  is  higher  than  Heaven.  What  canst  thou  do? 
Deeper  than  Hell,  what  canst  thou  know  ?  "  (Job 
11  :  7,  8). 

It  is  with  this  thought  of  limitlessness  and  in- 
finity, and  so,  of  inscrutability,  that  Job  was 
humbled  and  silenced  ;  and  he  bowed  down  before 
the  exhibition  and  memorial  of  the  Divine  perfec- 
tions. We  have  been  regarding  the  Providence  of 
God  from  the  historic  standpoint ;  we  will  now  re- 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  69 

gard  it  from  the  standpoint  of  experience.  This 
perfect  and  Divine  Providence  is  an  actuality,  and 
a  blessed  actuality  to  the  believer ;  to  the  spiritual 
Christian. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  while  the  fact  of  God's 
Providence  and  care,  as  exercised  towards  those 
who  put  their  trust  in  Him,  is  an  elementary  and 
fixed  truth  of  Natural  Eeligion,  and,  so,  universal 
in  its  operation,  it  is  also  one  of  the  most  cherished 
and  comfortable  facts  of  the  Christian  life. 

The  presence  of  God  with  the  soul  is  connected 
with  the  presence  of  His  Spirit  within  the  soul. 
The  result  is  a  "  fellowship  "  with  Him,  a  walking 
with  God,  but  it  is  seen,  felt  and  realized  only  by 
the  believer ;  but  as  so  felt,  realized  and  enjoyed, 
it  leads  on  to  greater  trust,  by  the  power  of  moral 
evidences  and  under  moral  law.  It  includes  a  rel- 
ative intellectual  perception  of  truth  relating  to 
God ;  but  it  is  distinctively  an  enjoyment  which 
comes  from  faith  and  obedience  to  God ;  and  ex- 
perience of  God,  so  derived,  leads  us  to  absolute 
trust  in  Him.  Trust  in  His  Personality ;  trust  in 
His  character.  "  They  that  know  Thy  name  will 
put  their  trust  in  Thee ;  for  Thou  Lord  hast  not 
failed  them  that  seek  Thee."  Faith  of  this  char- 
acter led  to  the  distinction  awarded  of  God  to 
Abraham,  as  the  father  of  the  faithful.  "  Now  I 
know  thou  fearest  God  seeing  thou  hast  not  with- 
held thy  son,  thy  only  son  from  Me"  (Gen.  22:  12). 

In  regard   to   His  inscrutability   in   Providence, 


70  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

there  is  frequent  reference  to  this  in  Holy  Writ. 
"  Thou  shalt  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God, 
who  hath  dealt  wondrously  with  you,  and  my 
people  shall  never  be  ashamed "  (Joel  2  :  26,  27). 
So,  too,  be  it  remarked,  faith  takes  hold  of  God's 
inherent  and  distinctive  nature  and  personality. 
"  Though  He  slay  me  (says  Job)  yet  will  I  put  my 
trust  in  Him  "  (Job  13  :  15).  It  is  said  of  Abraham 
that  against  hope  he  believed  in  hope,  "according 
to  that  which  was  spoken  so  shall  thy  seed  be " 
(Rom.  4  :  18).  Such  quotations  might  be  multiplied. 
In  view  of  the  actings  of  faith  in  His  people,  God 
says,  "  Because  he  hath  put  his  trust  in  Me,  there- 
fore will  I  deliver  him  ;  I  will  set  him  up,  because 
he  hath  known  My  name"  (Ps.  91  :  14).  Their 
faith  and  holy  character  is  able  to  trust  Him,  where 
they  are,  in  their  own  histories,  wholly  unable  to 
trace  Him,  and  they  know  Him,  not  by  metaphys- 
ical or  philosophical  subtleties,  but  by  faith  and 
holy  obedience.  Inscrutability  is  inscribed  upon 
the  ways  of  God,  historically  and  experimentally 
considered,  and  such  ways  are  but  relatively  known 
even  by  His  people  who  trust  in  Him ;  their  faith 
does  but  touch  the  margin,  as  it  were,  of  that 
boundless  ocean  of  Divine  wisdom  and  goodness, 
and  they  admiringly  say,  as  they  bow  before  the 
grandeur  of  His  limitless  and  unmeasured  perfec- 
tions, "  Thy  way  is  in  the  sea  and  Thy  path  is  in 
the  great  waters,  and  Thy  footsteps  are  not  known  " 
(Ps.  77  :  19). 


THE   PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  71 

God's  inscrutability,  to  the  trustful  and  confiding 
child  of  God,  is  no  bar  to  his  comfort,  but  rather  a 
source  of  joyful  reflection,  as  he  realizes  that  this  In- 
finite One,  inscrutable  in  many  ways,  even  in  His 
love,  is  his  God,  forever  and  ever,  his  portion  and 
inheritance  in  time  and  in  eternity. 

The  words  of  the  apostle  Paul,  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
voices  the  heart's  utterance  of  all  believers  ;  "  O  the 
depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  God,  now  unsearchable  are  His  judgments, 
and  His  ways  past  finding  out !  For  who  hath 
known  the  mind  of  the  Lord  ?  or  who  hath  been  His 
counselor  ?  or  who  hath  first  given  to  Him,  and  it 
shall  be  recompensed  unto  Him  again  ;  for  of  Him 
and  through  Him,  and  to  Him  are  all  things,  to 
whom  be  glory  forever,  Amen  "  (Rom.  11  :  33  ad 
finem). 

We  now  turn  to  contrast  this  exhibition  of  the 
Divine  character,  as  seen  in  the  actings  of  His  Provi- 
dence, with  the  elaborate  and  metaphysical  theory 
of  the  "  Higher  Pantheism,"  or  the  doctrine  of 
God's  immanence  in  Creation.  It  is  a  necessary 
part  of  that  mechanical  theory  of  absolute  develop- 
ment, as  an  universal  law,  both  in  matter  and  mind, 
pervading  all  departments  of  life,  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical, and  religious ;  and  so,  governing  all  history. 
As  it  pervades  thought,  so,  in  the  course  of  such 
development,  it  unifies  it;  and  not  only  does  it 
unify  thought  (according  to  the  Theodicy  of  "Lux 
Mundi "),  but  also,  by  implication,  it  unifies  charac- 


72      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ter.     It  is  part  of  the  theory,  in  its  objective  aspect, 
that  there  is  actual  unity  in  all  religions. 

The  Jewish  and  Gentile  cosmogonies  had  much  in 
common.  It  is  at  least  a  question  whether  Theism 
was  not  "  evolved  "  from  polytheism.  It  is  required, 
in  order  to  give  logical  consistency  to  their  theory. 
They  prefer  to  state  it  by  inference  and  implication, 
as  an  unsettled  question.  Evidently,  they  favor  it. 
As  all  religions  are,  according  to  "  Lux  Mundi,"  more 
or  less  immoral;  in  the  course  of  the  unification,  or 
fusing  of  Jewish  and  Greek  thought,  philosophical 
morality  is  invested  with  the  office  of  purifying  not 
only  religion,  generally,  including  that  of  the  Old 
Testament,  but  also  its  teaching,  and  our  ideas  of 
God.  This  principle  is  applied  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment history  and  teaching,  as  well  as  to  the  relig- 
ions of  the  heathen  world.  We  are  told  in  this 
connection  that  "The  history  of  pre-christian  re- 
ligions, and  pre-christian  philosophy  was  a  long 
preparation  for  the  Gospel."  I  will  not  pursue  their 
statements  in  detail,  but  merely  give  some  instances. 
(P.  67),  "The  function  of  morality  is  to  purify  the 
religious  idea  of  God."  (P.  56),  "  For,  in  religions, 
too,  there  is  a  struggle  for  existence,  in  which  the 
fittest  survive;  and  the  test  of  fitness  is  the  power 
to  assimilate  and  promote  moral  and  intellectual 
truth,  and  so  to  satisfy  the  whole  man."  (P.  84), 
"  It  remains,  then,  for  Christianity  to  claim  the  new 
truth,  and  meet  the  new  demands  by  a  fearless  reas. 
sertion  of  its  doctrine  of  God.     It  has  to  bring  forth 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  73 

out  of  its  treasure  things  new  and  old,— the  old,  al- 
most forgotten  truth  of  the  immanence  of  the  Word  ; 
the  belief  in  God  as  Creation's  secret  force,  illumi- 
nated and  confirmed  as  that  is  by  the  advance  of 
science,  and  as  it  comes  to  us  with  all  the  force  of  a 
new  discovery.  Slowly  and  under  the  shock  of  con- 
troversy, Christianity  is  recovering  its  buried  truth, 
and  realizing  the  greatness  of  its  heritage.  It 
teaches  still  that  God  is  the  Eternal  existent  One, 
the  Being  on  whom  we  depend,  and  in  whom  we 
live  ;  the  source  of  all  reality,  the  good  to  which  all 
creation  moves,  the  object,  alike,  of  religion  and 
philosophy,  the  eternal  energy  of  the  natural  world, 
and  the  immanent  Reason  of  the  Universe." 

And  so,  with  regard  to  all  truth,  whether  it 
comes  from  the  side  of  science,  or  of  history,  or  of 
criticism,  he  adopts  neither  the  method  of  surrender 
nor  protest,  but  the  method  of  assimilation  (p.  48). 

This  may  suffice.  Chapters  1  and  2  are  replete 
with  such  statements.  So,  of  the  chapter  on  the 
"Preparation  in  history  for  Christ."  The  idea  of 
assimilation  is  applied  to  objective  teaching  and  to 
subjective  character.  Both  are  to  be  unified,  or 
"fused."  Christianity  is  to  "assimilate"  every- 
thing; draw  no  distinction  between  natural  or  super- 
natural ;  or,  rather,  make  the  supernatural  to  give 
place  to  the  philosophic,  scientific  and  critical,  or 
properly  speaking,  human  element.  For  the  govern- 
ing idea  is  that  of  immanence ;  not  Divine  Person- 
ality and  transcendence;  the  Divine  supernatural. 


74      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

All  truth  is  one,  and,  if  religion  is  to  be  recognized 
at  all,  it  must  consent  that  Reason,  or  Metaphysics, 
shall  be  dominant  by  "  assimilation  "  (rather  let  us 
say  by  absorption  or  neutralization).     Although,  in 
theoretically  accepting  the  Incarnation,  as  ultimate 
Truth,  it  nominally  gives  Christianity  the  palm ;  it 
is  with  this  proviso,  viz.,  that  it  will  consent  to  the 
"fusion,"  or  assimilation  aforesaid.     For  "  God  is 
the  immanent  Eeason  of  the  Universe,"  or  (trans- 
posed) "  The  immanent  Eeason  of  the  Universe  is 
God."     This  is,  of  course,  equivalent  to  the  state- 
ment that  their  doctrine  is  pantheistic,  and  so  it  is. 
I  shall  now  summarize  this  comparative  survey,  by 
pointing  out  the  fact  that  such  a  metaphysical  and 
rationalistic  hypothesis  is  essentially  mechanical  in 
its  nature,     (a)  It,  actually,  excludes  the  personality 
of  God,  because  it  nullifies,  if  it  does  not  formally 
and  explicitly  deny  His  transcendent  operations  in 
the  universe ;  both  in  the  governance  of  mind  and 
of  matter,     (b)     As  this  system,  or  theodicy,  based 
on  cosmical  evolution,  as  a  hypothesis,  may  properly 
be  termed  a  mechanical  system,  so,  by  consequence, 
the  general  trend  of  the  theory  may  be  said  to  con- 
flict with  man's  free-agency,  as  a  responsible  being. 
It   may  also  be  remarked    that   this  philosophical 
theory,  from  its  intrinsic  character,  and  as  a  system, 
necessarily   ignores    the   primary   or   fundamental 
truth  on  which  all  God's  revelation  to  man  is  based, 
viz.,  the  historic  fact  of  the  Fall  of  Man  from  God, 
and  of  the  fact  and  doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  as  its 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  75 

consequence,  and  as  set  forth  to  us,  authoritatively 
in  Holy  Scripture. 

(c)  From  the  comparison  herein  made  of  this 
system,  and  its  doctrine  of  "  immanence  "  with  the 
teaching  of  Holy  Scripture  as  to  God's  personal 
providence  in  creation,  and  specially  over  man,  it  is 
sufficiently  evidenced,  as  a  fact,  that  it  conflicts  with, 
or  rather  is  in  contrast  with  the  facts  and  teaching 
of  Biblical  Theism  in  this  particular. 

(d)  Furthermore,  it  is  to  be  said  that  the  logical 
and  moral  result  of  this  theodicy  is  the  principle  of 
universal  salvation,  and,  also,  of  the  doctrine  of  sin- 
less perfection,  because,  as  by  fusion,  it  seeks  to 
unify  all  objective  truth,  whether  scientific,  critical, 
philosophical,  historical  or  supernatural,  i.  e.9  Divine 
Truth,  so,  also,  with  reference  to  subjective  charac- 
ter, and  the  doctrine  of  "  perfection."  As  a  theodicy 
this  system  is  based  upon  the  incarnation  ;  and,  by 
its  doctrine  of  sacramental  grace,  which  it  sets  forth 
in  absolute  terms,  it  teaches  "  a  receptivity,  through 
conscious  recognition,  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
fix  a  limit ! "  From  the  general  tenor  of  its  teach- 
ing, in  this  connection,  we  are  justified  in  inferring 
that  this  receptivity  comes  through  the  avenues 
both  of  metaphysical  philosophy  and  of  sacramental 
grace. 

(e)  And,  finally,  they  consider  it  in  the  true  line 
of  advance,  consistent  alike  with  the  principles  of 
evolution,  and  of  truth  that  "Our  modes  of  thought 
are  increasedly  Greek  " ;  and  they  deprecate  what 


76  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

they  call  "  our  too  uniuetaphysical  way  of  thinking." 
We  certainly  do  them  no  injustice  in  saying  that,  as 
compared  with  the  Bible,  philosophy,  metaphysics 
and  modern  science,  as  developed  by  evolution,  are 
truth  of  the  highest  order.  Their  theory  is,  that 
all  truth  is  homogeneous  in  character,  yet,  actually 
and  practically,  Biblical  truth  is  subordinate  in 
character  to  philosophy,  in  their  system,  (1)  because 
they  assert  that  it  is  the  province  of  morality  to 
purify  all  religion,  and  (2)  because  that  the  objec- 
tive faith  which  it  is  the  office  of  the  Church  to 
assert,  with  all  authority,  is  to  be  regulated  and 
varied  under  the  law  of  evolutionary  progress  in 
scientific  discoveries ;  which  discoveries  have  all  the 
force  of  inspiration. 

-To  say  that  this  theodicy,  put  forth  by  a  body 
of  men  who  are  occupants  of  the  sacred  office 
of  teachers  in  the  church  of  God,  is  flatly  contrary 
to  the  teaching  of  God's  Holy  Word,  albeit  that 
they  have  solemnly  accepted  that  Word  as  the  rule 
of  their  ministry,  and  promised  to  make  it  their 
business  to  "  drive  away  all  erroneous  and  strange 
doctrine "  contrary  thereto,  is  to  say  that  which 
needs  no  proof  nor  argument ;  herein  it  is  but  the 
recital  of  their  own  creed,  which  they  themselves 
have  formulated,  however  incompatible  it  may  be 
and  is  with  their  ordination  vows,  as  ministers  of 
the  Church  of  England. 

They  bow  to  the  authority  of  science,  metaphysics 
and  philosophy,  as  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  Truth.     I 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD  77 

presume  that  they  will  acknowledge  the  force  and 
authority  of  logic,  as  it  represents  sound  reason,  and 
allow  that  it  is  homogeneous,  though  it  is,  certainly, 
not  identical  with  those  elements  which  they  so 
specially  exalt  and  magnify  ;  and  I  will  make  bold 
to  say  that  the  elaborate  production  that  is  the  re- 
sult of  their  premises  will  no  more  abide  investiga- 
tion in  the  court  of  logic  than  it  will  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Holy  Scripture. 

Tried  by  that  just  and  inexorable  law  of  sound 
reason,  which  after  all  is  God's  gift  and  God's  law, 
there  will  be  found  to  be  no  cohesion  nor  solid 
foundation  for  the  house  they  have  built,  or  the 
materials  of  which  it  is  composed.  I  speak  of  it  as 
a  theodicy,  supposed  to  be  consistent  with,  and  au- 
thorized by  the  Christian  system  of  doctrinal  relig- 
ion ;  actually,  its  basis  is  philosophy  as  represented 
by  evolution.  Such  philosophy  is  its  prime  factor 
and  controlling  power;  it  is  its  governing  ele- 
ment ;  and,  for  the  reason  that,  under  the  law 
of  evolution,  as  supreme,  there  can  be  no 
stable  objective  faith;  for  this,  and  for  other 
reasons,  as  a  theodicy  it  is,  logically,  null  and 
void. 

The  Personality  and  Providence  of  God  as  re- 
lated to  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I  may  properly  apply  the  argument  I  have  used 
in  a  previous  chapter  in  relation  to  the  teaching  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  to  the  subject  now  before  us. 


TS  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

It  is  specially  pertinent,  for  the  reason  before  given, 
i.  e.,  that  "Lux  Mundi"  makes  the  Incarnation  and 
the  New  Testament  to  be  the  basis  of  dogmatic 
Theism. 

Throughout  our  Lord's  teaching,  while  He  asserts 
in  no  uncertain  way  His  own  personality  as  the 
Son  of  God,  He  at  the  same  time  asserts,  if  possible, 
with  more  insistence  and  constancy  the  personality 
and  government  of  God  the  Father.  If  He  asserts 
His  own  personality,  it  is,  very  generally,  as  that 
personality  stands  related  to  God  the  Father,  as 
Creator  and  Moral  Governor.  He  dwells  upon  the 
fact  that  the  Father  has  "  sanctified  and  sent  Him 
into  the  world  "  ;  that  He  "  did  not  come  of  Him- 
self, but  that  He  sent  Him  "  ;  and,  further,  that  His 
power  and  authority  as  Messiah  and  Saviour  was  a 
delegated  power  and  authority.  Similarly  does  He 
connect  all  the  glories  of  human  redemption  with 
the  primary,  personal  and  essential  glory  of  God,  as 
Creator  and  Moral  Governor. 

It  may,  most  certainly  and  emphatically,  be  said 
that  all  the  glories  of  a  revealed  redemption  and 
salvation  through  a  mediator,  originate  from  and 
are  dependent  upon  the  primary  truth  of  God's 
personality  and  attributes,  as  the  universal  Father 
of  His  creatures.  Hence,  it  is  very  evident  and 
clear  that  upon  the  basis  of  the  person  and  offices 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  stability,  necessity 
and  primary  value  of  natural  evidences  receive  their 
highest  and  strongest  ratification  and  support.    Our 


THE   PROVIDENCE   OF  GOD  79 

Lord's  habitual  language  in  reference  to  God  is  the 
declaration  of  His  universal  Fatherhood  !  Address- 
ing Himself  to  His  disciples,  He  frequently  speaks 
of  "  your  Father,"  in  the  same  way  that  He  con- 
nects the  Fatherhood  with  His  own  personality  as 
Son  of  Man  ;  (My  Father  and  your  Father,  My  God 
and  your  God.  John  20  :  17)  but,  from  that  stand- 
point, it  is  because  of  a  Fatherhood  as  realized  and 
accepted  (on  their  part)  because  believed  on.  The 
objective  fact  remains  a  fact,  to  all ;  a  fact  in  evi- 
dence. "  If  we  believe  not,  He  abideth  faithful ; 
He  cannot  deny  Himself"  (2  Tim  2:13).  This 
primary,  general  and  essential  truth  of  God's  per- 
sonality and  character  is,  as  such,  inseparable  from 
both  the  fact  and  doctrine  of  creation  as  the  work 
of  God  ;  and,  also  from  the  doctrine  of  His  provi- 
dential care. 

He  speaks  of  the  certainty,  and  also  of  the  uni- 
versality, as  He  asserts  the  fact,  and  also  asserts 
the  connection  in  each  case,  and  declares  the 
marvelous  character  of  His  personality  and  also 
that  of  the  Providence  of  God.  He  does  so  in  the 
same  way  as  He  speaks  of  the  power,  wisdom  and 
love  of  God,  as  Creator,  in  forming,  fashioning  and 
providing  for  all  that  He  has  made.  His  care  and 
His  providence  are  as  much  necessary  and  essential 
truths  as  are  those  of  His  personality  as  First 
Cause,  and  Creator  of  all  things. 

Hence,  in  order  to  fortify  our  confidence  in  God's 
personality,  He  tells  us  "  Not  a  sparrow  falleth  to 


80      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  gr.ouncl  without  your  Father."  u  Even  the  very 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered."  "  Fear  ye 
not,  therefore  ;  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many 
sparrows"  (Matt.  10:  30,  31). 

As  a  general  truth,  and  as  an  element  of  Theism, 
it  is  to  be  said  that,  throughout  Holy  Scripture, 
the  specific,  elementary  and  necessary  truth  of  a 
particular  Providence,  as  the  evidence  and  result 
of  God's  character,  and  being,  is  everywhere  and 
always  maintained  and  reiterated.  This  specific 
doctrine,  like  the  personality  of  God,  is  incapable 
of  evolution,  development  or  change ;  it  is  neces- 
sary and  eternal.  The  foregoing  considerations 
are,  I  think,  sufficient  evidence  to  declare  that, 
from  no  point  of  view  does  the  hypothesis  of  evolu- 
tion receive  a  more  emphatic  denial  than  from  the 
recorded  teaching  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the 
great  Prophet  of  His  Church,  concerning  the  pri- 
mary truth  of  God's  universal  Fatherhood,  and 
from  the  character  of  His  unfailing  and  universal 
providence  and  care  over  the  works  of  His  hands. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   CHURCH  OF  GOD,  AS  AN  ELEMENT   OF  THEISM 

The  fact  of  the  Divine  existence  and  personality, 
in  its  necessary  character  and  connections  with  His 
moral  government,  being  established,  the  next  sub- 
ject in  order  of  relation  thereto,  both  logically  and 
spiritually  considered,  is  the  Church  of  God. 

First,  I  desire  to  notice  the  logical  and  necessary 
relation. 

The  existence,  personality  and  character  of  God, 
and  the  objective  evidence  of  that  personality  and 
character,  as  exhibited  to  moral  agents  so  con- 
stituted as  we  are,  makes  a  certain  moral  result,  as 
a  sequence,  of  that  evidence,  so  exhibited,  to  be 
necessary  and  sure.  By  moral  and  spiritual  law,  so 
operative  upon  the  moral  nature  of  the  individual 
subject ;  from  the  character  of  the  evidence ;  from 
the  presiding  government  and  care  of  a  personal 
First  Cause  upon  the  faculties  of  the  individual  soul, 
as  by  the  determinative  act  of  that  soul ;  an  elimi- 
nation, a  personal  and  moral  elimination,  by  reason 
of  individual  acceptance  and  submission  to,  or  re- 
jection of,  and  disobedience  to  the  God  of  Truth 
and  Goodness,  must  necessarily  follow.  Faith  or 
unbelief  of  the  evidence  is  the  moral  test  of  char- 

81 


82      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

acter.  That  some  would  believe  the  evidence, — in 
itself  considered,— is  a  necessary  moral  sequence, 
and,  viewed  in  connection  with  experience  and  with 
Biblical  facts  and  teaching,  such  result  is  beyond 
question.  But — further — as  the  evidence  is  of 
Divine  facts,  so  must  be  the  faith  related  thereto. 
As  the  First  Law  Eternal  and  First-Cause  is  essen- 
tially supernatural,  so  of  the  law  that  He  has 
ordained  to  bring  man  into  moral  and  spiritual 
relations  of  union  with  Himself.  Also,  as  the  facts 
referred  to  require  such  a  moral  and  spiritual  result 
as  a  moral  elimination  to  God,  from  sin  and  evil, — 
as  a  determinate  act  of  the  individual  soul,  so,  the 
same  law,  so  operative,  describes  an  individual  and 
personal  elimination,  as  well  as  the  presidency  and 
supremacy  of  the  Supreme  Agent  and  First  Cause. 
To  the  individual  the  evidence  is  presented,  the 
privilege  and  benefits  are  offered,  and  the  responsi- 
bility belongs.  Upon  the  basis,  then,  of  facts  and 
upon  the  grounds  of  reason,  we  arrive  at  a  certain 
conclusion  as  to  the  existence  of  the  Church  of  God 
as  a  Divine  work ;  and,  also,  we  have  a  definite  and 
certain  assurance  of  its  being,  in  its  origin,  com- 
posed of  individual  believers,  collectively  constitut- 
ing what  is  described  as  "  a  remnant,"  and  "  a  little 
flock";  individually  and  severally,  under  moral 
law,  the  subjects  of  God's  electing  and  saving 
grace.  Their  moral  separation  to  God  is  primarily 
traceable  to  the  Divine  government  and  person- 
ality, as  First   Cause — and,  mediately  to  their  in- 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  83 

dividual   and    personal   action  upon  the  evidence, 
under  Divine  grace  and  help. 

It  is  important,  here,  to  observe  that  in  thus  de- 
fining the  being  (a?x^')  of  the  Church,  as  an  element 
of  Theism,  and  as  a  necessary  sequence  to  the 
temptation  and  fall  of  man,  as  delivered  to  us  in 
Holy  Scripture ;  the  subjective  result  of  that  trial 
which,  as  individuals,  the  human  race  must,  under 
the  moral  government  of  God,  undergo,  does  not, 
in  itself  involve  any  distinctive  theological  prin- 
ciple in  regard  to  free-agency.  We  are  free,  in 
this  respect,  to  draw  our  own  inferences  from  the 
collective  evidence  afforded  us  in  the  Word  of  God. 

According  to  the  "  proportion  of  faith,"  we  may 
emphasize  the  undoubted  truth  of  the  sovereignty 
of  God,  and  the  excellency  of  supernatural  grace ; 
or,  we  may  with  equal  propriety  maintain  the  doc- 
trine of  human  responsibility ;  in  either  case,  these 
doctrines  do  not  and  cannot  contravene  a  moral 
sequence,  and  a  certain  fact,  from  which,  logically, 
upon  Theistic  and  Biblical  premises,  there  is  no  es- 
cape. The  fact  I  refer  to  is  a  necessary  separation, 
and  dualism  of  character.  This  dualism  of  charac- 
ter dates  from  the  time  of  Cain  and  Abel ;  the  fact 
of  association  of  the  worshippers  of  God  dates 
from  the  time  of  Shem.  If  the  question  be  here 
raised,  Was  the  Church  founded  at  that  time  ? 
the  answer  is  determined  by  the  view  taken  of 
what  is  necessary  to  such  organization  or  constitu- 
tion.    I  think   it  correct  to  say  that  the  Church 


84  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

then  took  form  as  a  society,  and  also  as  a  .Divine 
society ;  yet,  withal  formed  under  the  natural,  or 
moral  law  of  character.  It  is  only  necessary  to  re- 
member that  this  was  the  formative  era,  and  pre- 
paratory to  that  further  development  and  manifes- 
tation which  wras  to  follow  from  and  under  a 
Positive  law  with  expressed  sanctions,  delivered 
with  Divine  authority  ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
written  under  Divine  and  supernatural  inspiration. 
Such  a  development  of  the  Church  was  consonant 
with  all  that  surrounded  it;  yet,  although  thus 
consolidated  and  manifested,  the  distinctive  prin- 
ciple which  constituted  the  being  of  the  Church 
was  expressed  and  contained,  as  a  result  of  proba- 
tion, and  of  the  moral  law  of  character.  From  the 
time  of  Shem,  it  was,  as  it  is  now  a  "  congregation 
or  gathering  of  faithful  men,"  and,  as  such,  "a 
communion  of  saints." 

The  law  of  sacrifice  —  ■  declared  as  a  fact ;  but 
it  was  not  develo  u  in  the  form  of  a  Divine 
ritual,  nor  was  it,  as  afterwards,  committed  exclu- 
sively to  the  ministration  of  a  select  order.  It 
would  appear  that  both  the  priestly  and  the  pro- 
phetic offices  were  latent,  and  in  embryo,  in  the  be- 
liever. The  generic  title  "  man  of  God  "  expressed 
both.  So  Abraham  was  declared  of  God  to  be 
"a  prophet,"  and  we  know  that  he,  as  well  as 
Noah,  offered  sacrifices,  in  obedience,  as  we  infer, 
to  an  unwritten  law. 

I  now  turn  from  the  abstract  and  essential  facts 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  85 

of  Theism  and  of  moral  law  to  the  concrete  and 
specific  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture. 

The  Church  in  its  normal  and  proper  accepta- 
tion is  the  congregation  ('euuX^ia)^  of  the  elect 
(^ekkekroC) ;  but  the  existence  of  the  Church  is  a 
necessary  moral  sequence  from  the  fall  of  man,  as 
the  primary  fact  in  the  history  of  our  race.  It 
appears  to  me  to  be  not  only  pertinent,  but  neces- 
sary to  establish  this  fact,  as  I  think  that  we  have 
established  the  fact  of  the  Divine  Personality  as  a 
cardinal  issue  with  the  advocates  of  the  hypothesis 
of  evolution.  The  Divine  Personality  and  that 
hypothesis  not  only  have  no  coherence  between 
them,  but  they  are,  I  conceive  at  antipodes  to  each 
other.  By  the  same  line  of  argument  we  may  ask 
the  advocates  of  atomic  development,  or  those  who 
restrict  evolution,  as  a  law  operative,  only,  after 
creation,  as  a  Divine  work ;  the  personality  of 
God  in  the  abstract,  and  creation  as  a  fact,  and  in 
the  abstract,  being  acknowi^ .  r,d,  while  the  book 
of  Genesis  as  a  Divine  history  of  creation  is  denied  ; 
what  explanation  is  offered  by  "  Lux  Mundi "  as  to 
the  cause  and  origin  of  moral  depravity,  seeing 
that  the  fall  of  man  is  declared  to  be  a  myth 
or  legend  ?  It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact  that  every 
philosophic  theory  devised  to  elucidate,  or  to  super- 
sede Holy  Scripture,  or  the  problems  therein  con- 
tained, evinces  a  marked  dislike  to  natural  relig- 
ion ;  and  its  advocates  seek,  in  every  possible  way, 
to  depreciate  its  force,  as  an  evidence  of  Theism. 


84  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

then  took  form  as  a  society,  and  also  as  a  Divine 
society ;  yet,  withal  formed  under  the  natural,  or 
moral  law  of  character.  It  is  only  necessary  to  re- 
member that  this  was  the  formative  era,  and  pre- 
paratory to  that  further  development  and  manifes- 
tation which  was  to  follow  from  and  under  a 
Positive  law  with  expressed  sanctions,  delivered 
with  Divine  authority  ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
written  under  Divine  and  supernatural  inspiration. 
Such  a  development  of  the  Church  was  consonant 
with  all  that  surrounded  it;  yet,  although  thus 
consolidated  and  manifested,  the  distinctive  prin- 
ciple which  constituted  the  being  of  the  Church 
was  expressed  and  contained,  as  a  result  of  proba- 
tion, and  of  th«^  moral  law  of  character.  From  the 
time  of  Shem,  it  was,  as  it  is  now  a  "congregation 
or  gathering  of  faithful  men,"  and,  as  such,  "a 
communion  of  saints." 

The  law  of  sacrifice  —  declared  as  a  fact ;  but 
"it  was  not  develo  u  in  the  form  of  a  Divine 
ritual,  nor  was  it,  as  afterwards,  committed  exclu- 
sively to  the  ministration  of  a  select  order.  It 
would  appear  that  both  the  priestly  and  the  pro- 
phetic offices  were  latent,  and  in  embryo,  in  the  be- 
liever. The  generic  title  "  man  of  God  "  expressed 
both.  So  Abraham  was  declared  of  God  to  be 
"a  prophet,"  and  we  know  that  he,  as  well  as 
Noah,  offered  sacrifices,  in  obedience,  as  we  infer, 
to  an  unwritten  law. 

I  now  turn  from  the  abstract  and  essential  facts 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  85 

of  Theism  and  of  moral  law  to  the  concrete  and 
specific  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture. 

The  Church  in  its  normal  and  proper  accepta- 
tion is  the  congregation  fe^A^'a),  of  the  elect 
(^sklekroi) ;  but  the  existence  of  the  Church  is  a 
necessary  moral  sequence  from  the  fall  of  man,  as 
the  primary  fact  in  the  history  of  our  race.  It 
appears  to  me  to  be  not  only  pertinent,  but  neces- 
sary to  establish  this  fact,  as  I  think  that  we  have 
established  the  fact  of  the  Divine  Personality  as  a 
cardinal  issue  with  the  advocates  of  the  hypothesis 
of  evolution.  The  Divine  Personality  and  that 
hypothesis  not  only  have  no  coherence  between 
them,  but  they  are,  I  conceive  at  antipodes  to  each 
other.  By  the  same  line  of  argument  we  may  ask 
the  advocates  of  atomic  development,  or  those  who 
restrict  evolution,  as  a  law  operative,  only,  after 
creation,  as  a  Divine  work ;  the  personality  of 
God  in  the  abstract,  and  creation  as  a  fact,  and  in 
the  abstract,  being  acknowledged,  while  the  book 
of  Genesis  as  a  Divine  history  of  creation  is  denied  ; 
what  explanation  is  offered  by  "  Lux  Mundi "  as  to 
the  cause  and  origin  of  moral  depravity,  seeing 
that  the  fall  of  man  is  declared  to  be  a  myth 
or  legend  ?  It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact  that  every 
philosophic  theory  devised  to  elucidate,  or  to  super- 
sede Holy  Scripture,  or  the  problems  therein  con- 
tained, evinces  a  marked  dislike  to  natural  relig- 
ion ;  and  its  advocates  seek,  in  every  possible  way, 
to  depreciate  its  force,  as  an  evidence  of  Theism. 


86  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Whence,  we  may  ask,  has  man  derived  those  in- 
eradicable ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  of  good  and 
evil  ?  Every  attempt  to  deny  their  existence, 
character  and  origin  is  futile  and  vain. 

Despite  all  the  forces  in  opposition,  the  evidence, 
objective  and  subjective,  for  God,  remains  valid. 
Objective  nature  is  a  fact !  The  God  of  nature  is  a 
fact !  A  particular  Providence  is  a  fact !  Con- 
science in  man  is  a  fact ;  and  it  is  an  inevitable  se- 
quence from  the  objective  evidence,  as  from  man's 
moral  constitution ;  although  Mr.  Illingworth,  in 
"  Lux  Mundi,"  does  seek  to  mitigate  the  argument 
from  conscience,  as  a  force  in  natural  religion,  by 
asserting  that  "  functions  react  on  the  faculties, 
even  in  our  conscience  and  our  reason  too  ; "  and  he 
tells  us,  at  the  same  time,  that  "  In  fact,  the  evolu- 
tionary origin  of  man  is  a  far  less  serious  question 
than  the  attack  on  final  causes  "  ("  Lux  Mundi  "  pp. 
161, 162).  Notwithstanding  all  this  special  pleading 
against  the  evidence, — the  fact  of  a  personal  Crea- 
tor,— as  objectively  declared  in  His  works  without, 
and  in  our  moral  constitution  within,  are  facts  that 
are  too  much  for  the  hypothesis  of  evolution. 

So,  too,  are  the  facts  "  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and 
of  judgment,"  as  subjects  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  appeal 
to  man's  moral  nature, — as  facts  of  our  conscious- 
ness, realities  from  which  no  individual  can  escape. 

The  appalling  fact  of  the  reign  of  sin  in  the  world, 
and  of  the  evils  which  the  Bible  declares  to  be  the 
result  of  man's  fall  from  God,  and  from  Holiness  is 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  87 

a  fact  beyond  dispute,  or  denial,  and  "  Lux  Mundi," 
accordingly,  acknowledges  the  fact  of  sin  and  of 
suffering  and  evil  as  existent,  while  it  denies  the 
only  possible  solution,  as  given  to  us  of  God,  in  Holy 
Scripture,  and  denies  it  to  be  fact  and  history. 
They  acknowledge  the  fact,  I  say,  but  they  give  no 
solution  of  it;  although  they  reject  the  solution 
given  in  Holy  Scripture,  and  that  on  which  the 
whole  of  the  Bible,  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment is  based,  and  with  which  it  is  connected,  his- 
torically, doctrinally  and  practically.  I  do  but  state 
the  fact.  I  shall  not,  here,  trace  its  consequences. 
We  start  from  the  established  premise  that  "  there 
is  one  living  and  true  God,  everlasting,  without 
body,  parts  or  passions,  of  infinite  power,  wisdom 
and  goodness,  the  Maker  and  Preserver  of  all  things, 
both  visible  and  invisible,  and  in  unity  of  this  God- 
head there  are  three  persons,  of  one  substance, 
power  and  eternity,  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Ghost "  (Art.  1). 

The  Bible  history  of  our  race  recognizes  most 
clearly,  as  identified  with  God's  character  and  man's 
trial  in  a  state  of  provisional  innocency,  the  existence 
and  operation  of  an  arch-spirit  of  evil.  That  man 
was  created  upright ;  that  he  was  tried,  and  in  that 
trial  he  fell  from  God,  and  that  his  fall  was  replete 
with  moral  and  physical  consequences  which  we  can 
only  proximately  estimate  ;  that  every  present  evil, 
and  all  the  deep  rooted  and  radical  corruption  of  our 
moral  nature  is  the  result  of  that  fall ;  and  experi- 


88      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ence,  attainable,  and  attained  by  man  corroborates 
the  statement  of  Bible  history  and  perfectly  agrees 
with  the  facts  therein  set  forth.  These  are  truths 
well  authenticated,  and  they  alone  can,  and  they  do, 
satisfactorily  account  for  the  physical  and  moral  ills 
that  bear  sway  in  the  world. 

They  tell  us,  as  does  the  dogmatic  teaching  of 
Holy  Writ,  that  all  is  due  to  a  law  of  sin,  that  as  a 
governing,  controlling  and  actuating  power,  rules 
the  heart  and  life.  Sacred  history  tells  us  that  after 
the  fall  of  man,  human  degeneracy  advanced  rapidly, 
and  was  developed  in  a  kingdom  of  evil ;  that  "  All 
flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth,  and  that 
every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 
only  evil,  continually  "  (Gen.  6  :  5). 

The  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  both  as  to  His  own  Kingdom  and  its  charac- 
ter and  fruits,  and  that  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Prince 
of  this  World  is  explicit  and  full ;  but  the  earlier 
record  as  to  the  reign  of  sin  is  substantially  the 
same.  The  world,  and  the  Prince  of  this  World,  as 
an  antagonistic  force,  absolutely  separate  from,  and 
opposed  to  God,  and  to  His  law,  is  equally  manifest 
in  both  cases. 

What  we  have,  then,  on  this  basis  to  state  is,  that 
the  Church  is  a  cardinal  moral  sequence  in  historic 
theism  ;  a  necessary  result  of  the  existence,  person- 
ality and  character  of  God,  and  of  the  moral  consti- 
tution of  man  as  created  of  Him  ;  and,  particularly 
a  necessary  result  of  his  fall  from  God,  and  of  moral 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  S9 

trial  after  that  fall ;  and,  as  the  reasonable  subject 
of  God's  moral  government,  responsible  to  Him  for 
evidence  afforded  to  him.  By  the  power  of  Divine 
truth ;  by  the  grace  and  sovereignty  of  a  Personal 
God,  as  the  dispenser  of  truth  ;  by  the  moral  and 
effectual  in  working  of  that  truth  upon  the  heart, 
men,  as  individuals,  are  by  the  evidence  and  by  the 
belief  of  it,  by  the  choice  of  truth  and  goodness,  ef- 
fectually called  and  separated  to  God,  as  His  wit- 
nesses. That,  upon  this  principle,  and  in  accordance 
with  a  uniform  law  and  procedure  of  God's  moral 
government,  from  the  earliest  ages,  some  were  called 
out  and  separated  from  the  disobedient  and  ungodly, 
we  might  properly  infer,  and  certainly  conclude ; 
and,  in  accordance  therewith,  we  are  told  that,  in 
the  days  of  Seth,  men  "  began  to  call  themselves 
by,"  or  to  "  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  (Gen. 
4  :  26).  In  either  case  it  is  expressive  of  identifica- 
tion with,  and  elimination  from.  Hooker  remarks, 
in  reference  to  another  matter,  "  The  thing  itself  is 
commonly  older  than  the  name  given  to  it ;  "  so  also 
we  may  conclude  that,  at  this  time,  such  a  sepa- 
ration, as  a  fact  previously  existent,  now  became 
more  open  and  evident,  and  marked  association, — 
and  a  separate  class. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  determine  the 
primary  character  and  being  of  the  Church.  We 
have  seen  that  a  Personal  God  is  the  object  of 
man's  faith,  as  a  creature  and  as  a  sinner.  This 
brings  before  us  the  fact  that  a  Personal  God  calls 


90      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

for  a  personal  and  individual  faith  and  individual 
choice,  and  action  upon  evidence  given.  Thus,  the 
primary  and  necessary  being  and  original  of  the 
Church  is  found  in  the  individual  believer.  Elect 
individuals,  as  believers  upon  God  are  the  '«?*??  of 
the  Church ;  its  primary  character  and  being. 
Such  privileged  condition  is  strictly  traceable  to 
God's  electing  love  and  saving  power  upon  the  in- 
dividual, and  to  the  determinating  act  of  a  personal 
faith,  in  the  individual  soul,  as  a  moral  agent ;  and 
the  continuous  action  of  the  great  God  our  Saviour 
in  the  salvation  of  men,  is,  under  all  evidences,  uni- 
form in  character.  Men  are  enlightened,  justified 
and  saved  as  individuals  ;  as  individuals  they  are 
in  every  age,  witnesses  for  God.  Primarily,  it 
may  be  said,  they  are  God's  witnesses  by  a  holy 
character,  separated  from  the  ungodly  and  unre- 
newed, by  a  moral  and  spiritual  separation.  So  St. 
Peter  says  (1  Pet.  2 :  9),  "  Ye  are  a  chosen  genera- 
tion, a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar 
people,  that  ye  should  shew  forth  the  praises 
of  Him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  unto 
marvellous  light."  This  moral  separation, — a  sepa- 
ration both  of  objective  faith,  and  of  subjective 
character — was  of  God  designed  to  be  a  witness  for 
Him.  "  Ye  are  My  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
I  am  God."  This  character,  this  faith,  and  manner 
of  life  are,  to  the  world,  a  witness  bearing  for  Him. 
Regarding  the  Church  from  an  ante-diluvial 
stand-point,  we  are  told  of  Enoch,  that  "  he  walked 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  91 

with  God,  and  was  not,  for  God  took  him."  So, 
Noah  was  distinguished.  The  same  characteristic 
is  traceable  in  our  Lord's  delineation  of  His  sheep. 
"  My  sheep  hear  My  voice,  and  I  know  them  and 
they  follow  Me  "  (John  10  :  27).  So  of  the  distinct- 
ive position  of  all  His  people ;  it  is  described  as 
that  of  "  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  His 
Son,  Jesus  Christ  "  (1  John  1).  It  is  "  by  the  unity 
of  the  faith,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God  " 
(Eph.  4:  13),  that  "  there  is,  to  us,  but  one  God,  the 
Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we  in  Him ; 
and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things, 
and  we  by  Him  "  (1  Cor.  8  :  4,  5,  6).  So  too  of  the 
fact  of  our  personal,  individual  and  direct  responsi- 
bility to  God,  in  the  great  hereafter,  is  distinctly  as- 
serted. "  No  man  may  redeem  his  brother,  or  give 
to  God  a  ransom  for  him  "  (Ps.  49  :  7).  "  We  shall 
every  one  of  us  give  an  account  of  ourselves  to 
God  "  (Rom.  14  :  12).  So  our  Lord  declares,  "  The 
Son  of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father, 
with  His  angels,  and  then  He  shall  reward  every 
man  according  to  his  works  "  (Matt.  16 :  27).  So 
again  He  says,  "  All  the  churches  shall  know  that  I 
am  He  that  searcheth  the  hearts  and  reins,  and  I 
will  give  unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  his 
works  "  (Rev.  2  :  23). 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  a  personal  election,  a  per- 
sonal faith,  a  personal  spiritual  fellowship  and  com- 
munion, and  a  personal  accountability,  and  a  per- 
sonal acceptance  of  salvation.    It  has  been  necessary 


92  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

to  state,  and  to  establish  these  facts,  because,  as  is 
well  known,  the  character  and  authority  of  the 
Church,  as  a  corporate  body,  is  so  stated  as  to  con- 
travene the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  so  as 
to  interpose  the  authority  of  a  corporation  between 
the  individual  and  the  Creator  and  Eedeeraer. 

This  erroneous  and  false  statement  of  the  charac- 
ter and  position  of  the  Church  is  exhibited  in 
the  partial  and  subjective  treatment  of  the  subject 
in  Mr.  Locke's  essay  in  "  Lux  Mundi."  The  pri- 
mary and  fundamental  conception  of  the  Church  is 
left  out  of  sight,  and  ignored.  We  may,  in  fact, 
say  that  is  repudiated  and  denied.  The  first  sepa- 
ration of  the  obedient  from  the  disobedient,  the 
servants  of  God  from  the  doers  of  wickedness, 
and  of  which  we  read  in  Gen.  3  as  having  taken 
place  in  the  days  of  Seth,  cannot  be  said  to 
have  taken  place  as  the  organization  of  a  society 
under  law  and  ritual,  as  such  organization  cannot 
be  supposed  to  have  taken  place  until  after  the 
flood,  and  was  not  clearly  defined,  as  such,  until  the 
inauguration  of  the  Jewish  church  under  Moses,  as 
prophet  and  lawgiver.  The  ante-diluvial  church 
existed  as  an  immediate  and  necessary  result  of 
a  dualism  of  character,  consequent  upon  the  en- 
trance of  sin.  It  was,  strictly,  we  may  consider, 
upon  an  individual  basis,  and  as  a  consequence  of 
moral  separation.  We  may  doubtless  consider  that 
such  individual  separation  would,  under  moral  and 
spiritual  law,  operate  upon  family  life ;  but,  it  does 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  93 

not  necessarily  follow  that  the  Church  was,  even  so, 
established  as  an  aggregation  of  families ;  on  the 
contrary,  we  find  it  stated,  as  an  encouragement  to 
all  individuals  who  were  "  followers  after  righteous- 
ness," and  "seekers  of  the  Lord,"  "Look  unto 
Abraham  your  father,  and  unto  Sarah  that  bare 
you,  for  I  called  him,  alone,  and  blessed  him,  and 
increased  him "  (Is.  51 :  2).  St.  Paul  says,  "  He 
was  the  father  of  all  that  believe,  though  they  be 
not  circumcised."  So  it  applies  not  only  to  be- 
lievers among  the  Jews,  but  among  all  nations. 

And,  if  the  church  was  not,  in  patriarchal  days, 
organized  as  an  aggregation  of  families,  under  law 
and  ritual,  but,  at  that  stage  was  only  so  far  de- 
veloped from  individual  to  family  life,  it  was  the 
development  of  a  select  class,  or  generation,  and  an 
elected  people,  under  strictly  moral  and  spiritual 
law.  Under  such  moral  operation  and  influence, 
was  it  God's  purpose  to  develop  a  national  church. 
"I  know  Abraham  that  he  will  command  his  chil- 
dren and  his  household  after  him,  to  do  justice 
and  judgment,  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abra- 
ham that  which  He  hath  spoken  of  him "  (Gen. 
18  :  7).  It  is  only  from  the  days  of  Abraham  that 
we  can  trace  a  social  development  of  the  Church, 
on  a  family  basis,  and  even  then  it  was  so  devel- 
oped on  the  basis  of  parental  authority,  natural 
affection  and  the  moral  law  of  a  holy  and  pious 
character.  In  other  words,  because  God  had,  from 
the  beginning,  invested  the  father  of  the  family 


94      THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

with  just  authority  to  rule  his  family  and  house- 
hold ;  and,  because  Abraham  was  himself  governed 
by  the  faith  and  love  of  God,  natural  affection  for, 
and  his  lawful  government  of  his  children  was 
directed  and  controlled  by  his  religious  character, 
as  a  servant  of  God.  Further  than  this,  duty  to 
God,  and  duty  to  his  children,  under  the  law  of 
nature,  and  of  Natural  Eeligion  required  him  so  to 
govern  them,  as  a  consequence  of  his  own  religious 
knowledge.  Such  duties,  and  such  relationship  was 
afterwards  ratified  and  enforced  by  revealed  relig- 
ion, under  the  Mosaic  economy  ;  and,  as  we  find 
natural  religion  republished  and  consolidated  in 
Holy  Scripture,  so  also  of  family  religion  (which 
we  may  characterize  as  the  nursery  of  the  church 
as  a  developed  society),  was  consolidated  and  made 
a  permanent  element  of  religious  duty  by  incorpor- 
ation in  Holy  Scripture, — under  the  same  well  de- 
fined law  of  God's  moral  government.  It  is  further 
to  be  considered  that  the  Jewish  church  was  re- 
garded of  God  Himself,  in  Holy  Scripture,  as  an 
aggregation  of  families,  as  traced  backwards  ;  and, 
as  a  society  it  was  organized  on  this  basis.  So,  too, 
we  may  properly  consider  that  the  Church  of  the 
New  Testament,  if  true  to  its  actual  being,  and 
proper  ideal,  should  be  an  aggregation,  or  congre- 
gation of  individual  believers  ;  and  that  personal 
religious  character  and  profession  carries  with  it  re- 
sponsibility for  family  religion,  as  a  Christian  duty, 
and   characteristic.     Nevertheless,  it  is  only  true 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  95 

believers  that  are  members  of  the  church,  normally 
considered,  or  that  have  been  such  in  any  age ;  and 
those  only  are  such  in  this  age,  who  are  in  vital 
union  with  Christ.  Such  are  they  of  whom  He 
said,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  "  Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world  "  (Matt.  5 :  13,  14) ;  and  of  whom 
the  apostle  said,  "  Ye  are  lights  in  the  world,  hold- 
ing forth  the  Word  of  Life  "  (Phil.  2 :  15,  16). 

Also,  it  is  solely  because  of  the  presence  of  such 
in  the  visible  church,  that  it  has  actual  power  for 
good,  or  that  it  enjoys  Christ's  presence  and  prom- 
ises. Further,  it  is  only  on  the  basis  of  faith  and 
character,  that  spiritual  gifts,  offices,  and  office 
power  are  given  to  the  church,  as  an  organized 
society.  u  He  gave  to  the  church,  first,  apostles, 
secondarily  prophets,  after  that  pastors  and  teach- 
ers ;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  or  building  up  of 
the  body  of  Christ"  (Eph.  4:  11-13;  1  Cor.  12: 
27,  28).  So  also,  for  the  same  reason  has  He  made 
it  the  custodian,  and  its  officers  the  teachers  of  the 
Word,  and  the  dispensers  of  the  sacraments.  In 
fact,  all  power  for  church  government,  as  well  as 
all  authority  to  teach  in  His  name,  is  upon  this 
basis,  viz.,  that  such  are,  themselves,  as  individuals, 
under  the  teaching  and  governance  of  His  Word, 
and  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  Also,  at  the  same  time  it 
is  to  be  noticed  that  all  such  officers  are  held  re- 
sponsible for  obedience  to  "  the  faithful  Word  "  "  as 
he  hath   been  taught."     Under  such  constitutional 


96  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

law  and  government  as  is  plainly  laid  down  in 
God's  Word  written  as  to  all  that  relates  to  dogma, 
on  the  basis  of  sacred  history,  the  law  and  the 
prophets ;  Holy  Scripture,  as  an  organic  whole ;  so, 
is  the  character  and  ruling  power  of  the  church 
defined  and  limited.  The  rule  and  criterion  of  the 
church's  teaching  is  definitely  and  immutably  fixed 
by  its  great  Head ;  and  we  may  justly  apply  the 
words  with  which  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  of  Holy  Writ,  is  closed,  as  having  not 
only  a  specific  reference  to  the  last  communication 
therein  contained,  but,  as,  also,  applying  to  the 
whole  of  God's  Word  written,  that  it  is  not  to  be 
added  to,  or  taken  from. 

The  Word  of  the  Lord,  as  Eternal  Truth  en- 
dureth  forever. 

To  sum  up  what  I  wish  to  say  as  to  the  being 
and  character  of  the  church,  as  a  moral  sequence 
from  Theism,  I  will  now  recapitulate  what  I  have 
hereinbefore  stated.  Primarily  and  essentially,  the 
church  in  its  origin  and  being,  as  a  subjective  result 
of  the  moral  government  of  God,  and  of  objective 
Theism,  is  a  necessary  result  of  such  evidence  and 
moral  government, — of  man's  moral  constitution, 
and  of  his  condition  as  a  fallen  being.  The  exist- 
ence of  the  church  is  due,  under  moral  law,  to  a 
necessary  elimination  and  moral  separation  to  God 
of  the  just  from  the  unjust. 

Such  an  elimination  must,  necessarily,  be  an  in- 
dividual elimination,  as  well  as  a  moral  one  ;  due  in 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  97 

each  case  to  objective  evidence,  to  God's  power,  and 
to  man's  free  agency.  The  moral  power  therefore, 
of  the  church,  from  this  standpoint  must  be  great. 
It  must,  from  its  character  and  origin  have  inherent 
powers  of  cohesive  unity,  in  its  individual  members ; 
but,  it  is  a  moral,  as  distinguished  from  politic  and 
forensic  power;  it  is  individual  as  distinguished 
from  corporate,  in  the  privileges  and  immunities 
which  it  enjoys  from  God,  in  the  present,  and  in 
the  promises  and  prospects  appertaining  to  it  in  the 
eternal  future. 

It  becomes  necessary,  now,  to  compare  these  con- 
clusions with  the  teaching  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  as  to 
the  faith,  the  being  and  the  office  of  the  church. 

I  shall  not  quote,  verbatim,  the  various  passages 
therein  contravening  what  I  regard  as  scripture 
teaching  upon  the  several  points  in  which  such  con- 
traventions are  found.  First,  I  will  epitomize  the 
teaching  aforesaid.  In  regard  (1)  to  the  Faith  of 
the  Church,  it  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  theism, 
i.  e.,  sound  theism,  that  God  is  Eternally  One,  not 
only  as  to  His  Being,  but  in  His  counsels  of  salva- 
tion. 

We  have  considered  the  principles  established  by 
Hooker,  from  God's  Holy  Word,  and  sound  reason, 
as  to  the  Law  Eternal,  primary  and  secondary,  of 
God's  Being  and  moral  government.  We  may 
epitomize  it  thus, — "  The  Word  of  the  Lord  en- 
dureth  forever."  "  With  Him  is  no  variableness, 
nor  shadow  of  turning."     "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same. 


98  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

yesterday,  to-day  and  forever."     This  is  the  Scrip- 
ture position. 

In  opposition  to  the  immutability  of  God,  and  of 
objective  faith,  to  which  the  Church  stands,  indi- 
vidually, personally  and  subjectively  related  ;  and 
also,  it  may  be  said,  in  opposition  to  the  relation  of 
the  Church,  collectively  and  corporately  considered, 
as  it  is  constituted  of  God  a  "  witness  and  keeper 
of  Holy  Writ ; "  as  the  authors  of  "  Lux  Muncli  " 
have  accepted  the  theory  of  evolution  fully  and  ab- 
solutely, and  specially  as  applied  to  theology,  they 
have  identified  philosophic  truth  and  scientific 
discoveries  with  the  supernatural  revelations  of 
Holy  Writ,  and  they  state  that  there  is  an  actual 
"  fusion  "  between  them. 

So,  also,  they  assert  that  there  is  an  "  ever  vary- 
ing mutation  "  in  the  objects,  or  rather  aspects  of 
the  Church's  faith,  so  at  least  that  it  can  adapt  its 
statements  of  truth  to  the  ever  advancing  evolu- 
tion of  science, — which  it  honors  as  Divine  revela- 
tions, and  to  such  an  extent  as  to  radically  alter  and 
to  cast  discredit  upon  fundamental  truths,  dogmatic 
and  historical,  of  Holy  Writ. 

It  is,  thus,  no  longer  the  duty  of  the  Church,  as 
witness  to,  and  educator  of  the  world  to  "  contend 
earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  unto  the  saints  " 
(Jude  3).  Nor  as  our  ordinal  states,  as  the  office 
and  duty  of  the  ministry  to  "  drive  away  erroneous 
and  strange  doctrines  contrary  to  God's  Word,"  but 
so  readily  to  adjust  its  statements,  and  so  skillfully 


THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD  99 

to  change  its  front,  in  harmony  with  the  evolutions 
of  science,  "  that  the  faith  it  holds  forth  to  the 
world  shall  be  the  faith  of  to-day."  See  pp.  12,  31- 
33,  36  and  37  of  "  Lux  Muncli."  Also,  faith  is 
treated  as  quite  apart  from  its  objective  source  in 
evidence,  whether  in  nature,  or  in  Holy  Scripture. 
It  is  regarded  as  a  subjective  quality, — solely, — 
capable  of  ever-advancing  evolution,  "of  a  develop- 
ment of  which  we  cannot  fix  the  limits  !  "  This 
is  framed  so  as  to  answer,  subjectively,  to  the 
objective  and  philosophic  knowledge,  which  is  con- 
stantly advancing,  and  is  made  (actually)  to  super- 
sede God's  written  Word.  (2)  As  to  the  being  of 
the  Church.  The  theology  of  "  Lux  Mundi  "  knows 
of  the  Church,  only  as  a  corporate  body  ;  a  judicial 
Church,  rather  than  a  spiritual  body.  As  such,  it  is 
characterized  as  receiving  corporate  rather  than  in- 
dividual benefits,  and  conveying  sacramental  grace, 
as  through  a  divinely  appointed  channel,  rather 
than  the  spiritual  benefits  resulting,  through  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  the  ministry  and 
teaching  of  God's  Holy  Word.  Further,— here,  as 
elsewhere,  the  argument  stating  the  character  of 
the  Church  is  subjective  and  philosophical,  rather 
than  objective  and  historical,  and  from  the  stand- 
point of  theistic  and  Bible  teaching.  (3)  By  the 
teaching  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  inspiration  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  in  the  church.  Holy  Scripture  is  not  the 
absolute  and  final  test  of  truth.  Here  be  it  noted 
"Lux   Mundi"   is   directly   at   variance    with    the 


100  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

authoritative  declaration  of  the  Sixth  Article  of  our 
church,  as  to  the  "sufficiency  of  the  Holy  Scripture." 
The  Scripture  is  indeed  included  in  the  church,  but 
its  authority  is  subordinate  to  the  church.  Bishop 
Gore's  language  is  such  that,  if  fairly  and  plainly 
stated,  it  denies  all  claim  of  the  Bible  to  credence 
as  an  authentic  record  of  facts,  or  as  historically 
true.  The  whole  book  may  be  said  to  show  an 
aversion  to  supernatural  truth.  It  also  teaches  that 
by  the  action  of  the  Church,  the  sphere  of  individual 
and  private  judgment  is  to  be,  by  it,  defined  and 
limited.  It  asserts  broadly  the  Church's  power  to 
bind  and  to  loose. 

In  regard  to  scientific  criticism  Bishop  Gore  be- 
lieves that  "  the  developments  of  moderm  criticism 
are  reaching  results  as  sure,  where  it  is  fairly  used, 
as  scientific  enquiry." 

His  own  statements,  and  those  of  his  coadjutors, 
are  such  as  involve  nothing  less  than  the  truth  and 
honesty  of  the  sacred  writers  ;  nothing  less  than 
denial  of  the  perfect  human  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  His  plenar}7 
knowledge  and  authority  as  Messiah  and  as  Prophet ; 
and  even  an  irreverent  attack  upon  the  personal 
character  of  our  Lord  and  Master,  in  His  human 
nature,  is  implied,  if  not  expressed.  The  aforesaid 
does  by  no  means  exhaust  the  charges  to  which  the 
teaching  of  "  Lux  Mundi "  is  open. 

The  theodicy  it  "  evolves "  would  revolutionize 
the  theology  of  the  Christian  Church  ;  of  all  that 


THE  CHURCH  OF   GOD  101 

has  been  held  by  the  piety  and  learning  of  more 
than  nineteen  hundred  years  to  be  Biblical  and 
true.  It  would  leave  Christianity  existent  only  in 
name  ;  without  logical  or  historical  antecedents  or 
foundation. 

Herein  I  have  had  regard  solely  to  the  character 
and  being  of  the  Church,  and  but  incidentally  to  its 
office,  as  a  developed  organization  under  law  and 
ritual.  I  purpose  more  fully  to  consider  its  relation 
to  sacred  history,  and  sacred  literature,  hereafter. 
It  may,  therefore,  suffice,  now,  to  say  that  the  un- 
written traditions  of  such  a  body  of  believers,  as 
we  have  found  the  Church  in  its  normal  character  and 
being  to  be  composed  of,  would  in  themselves  con- 
sidered secure  a  dissemination  of  the  facts  pertaining 
to  theism,  by  way  of  vocal  utterance  and  testimony  ; 
and  the  same  operative  causes  securing  the  efficacy 
of  unwritten  traditions,  in  relation  to  theism,  secure 
also,  the  preservation,  inerrancy,  and  effectual  trans- 
mission of  whatever  monumental  or  documentary 
evidence  might,  by  the  unerring  government  of  a 
personal  God,  be  adopted  and  used  in  that  super- 
natural society  so  elected  and  organized  by  Him 
for  their  due  preservation  as  sacred  history ;  also, 
that  being  so  characterized  and  preserved,  they  ex- 
ist and  are  perpetuated  as  a  distinctly  supernatural 
and  theistic  economy,  to  make  known  the  facts  of 
that  history,  and  also  the  consolidated  and  estab- 
lished laws  of  Jehovah,  for  the  guidance  and  govern- 
ment of  nations,  of  societies  and  of  individual  men. 


102  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

(The  sources  of  Sacred  History,  ante  and  post- 
diluvial, and  the  inspiration  of  Holy  Scripture,  will 
form  subjects  of  special  consideration  when  we 
treat  of  Theism  under  Supernatural  Law.) 


CHAPTER  VI 

SACRED   TRADITIONS,  AS  AN   ELEMENT  OF  THEISM 

Having  considered  the  nature  and  being  of  the 
Church,  as  it  is  a  moral  sequence  from  man's  rela- 
tion to  God,  as  a  fallen  being  under  probation,  the 
next  subject,  in  order  of  logical  relation  to  the 
premises,  is  the  subject  of  Divine  tradition.  This, 
also,  is  a  sequence  from  the  primary  fact  of  Creation 
and  the  Fall. 

As  the  existence  of  the  Church  is  a  moral  se- 
quence from  the  evidence  so  established,  so  also  is 
the  result  of  that  existence  the  moral  necessity  that 
vocal  testimony  for  God  should  issue  from  the 
Church,  as  so  existent, — both  from  its  being  and 
character  and,  also,  from  the  character  and  govern- 
ment of  God. 

I  propose  to  deal  with  the  topics  of  the  cumu- 
lative character  of  theistic  evidence,  as  a  distinct 
consideration  ;  but  it  is  pertinent  here  to  refer  to 
the  fact  of  the  fixed  and  permanent  character  of  all 
evidences  for  God,  as  they  are  objective  in  character, 
with  the  results  accruing  therefrom ;  and,  as  they 
are  made  permanent  in  a  written,  cumulative,  and 
perfectly  developed  supernatural  law.  This  fact 
has  its  original  in  "the  first  law  eternal"  of  the 
Divine   Being,  and,  as  it  is,  so,   necessary  to  the 

103 


104  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Being  of  God,  it  is  fundamental  to  Objective  The. 
ism,  both  as  it  proceeds  from  Him  and  witnesses  to 
Him.  And  this  feature  of  Objective  Theism  is 
fully  declared  and  maintained  in  Holy  Scripture. 

I  wish  also  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  this  princi- 
ple of  theism,  as  it  is  fundamental  and  universal, 
and  as  it  is  maintained  in  Holy  Scripture,  is  in 
direct  antithesis  to  the  subjective,  philosophic  prin- 
ciples set  forth  in  "  Lux  Mundi."  As  the  most  dan- 
gerous errors  are  those  which  are  corruptions  of 
some  Divine  truth,  so  it  is  in  relation  to  the  subject 
of  Tradition.  It  is  of  prime  consequence  to  dis- 
tinguish between  ecclesiastical  and  Divine  tradi- 
tions,—properly  so  called.  Divine  traditions  are 
those  which  can  claim  directly  and  immediately, 
Divine  sanction,  either  from  Holy  Scripture  itself, 
or  from  necessary  historical  inference  antecedent 
to  the  publication  of  Holy  Scripture. 

It  is  of  the  latter  that  I  now  proceed  to  speak. 
Upon  the  basis  of  historical  facts  of  Creation  and 
Providence,  as  related  to  a  Personal  Creator, — as 
we  accept  the  Bible  account,  in  the  first  book  of 
Moses,  as  to  ante-diluvial  history, — Ave  learn  that 
man's  longevity,  in  the  early  history  of  the  race, 
was  such  that,  for  a  long  period  subsequent  to  the 
Fall,  and  we  may  conceive  even  to  the  time  of  the 
Deluge,  the  memory  of  living  men  would  sufficiently 
preserve  the  salient  facts  in  the  history  of  our  fel- 
low-men, and  of  God's  dealings,  as  Creator,  with 
them. 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  105 

Coupled  with  this  we  may  place  the  fact  of  the 
natural  tendency  of  mankind  to  perpetuate  records 
of  facts  of  interest,  and  facts  of  history.  Thus  we 
may  reasonably  infer  that  some  additional  and  tan- 
gible records  and  evidences,  whatever  might  be  their 
form,  substantiated  the  traditional  facts,  and  that 
they  were,  so,  preserved. 

We  may,  here,  give  as  an  illustration,  the  pillar 
and  heap  of  stones  raised  by  Laban  and  Jacob,  as  a 
memorial ;  so  also  Absalom's  pillar  "  to  keep  his 
name  in  remembrance ; "  but  coupled  with  the 
above,  we  must  place  the  witness-bearing  character 
of  a  living  church,  as  composed  of  individual  believ- 
ers upon  God ;  themselves  witnesses,  by  electing 
grace.  Separated  in  character  from  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, they  would  be,  in  themselves  considered,  the 
natural,  necessary  and  fitting  witnesses  of  God,  and 
for  the  facts  of  His  government,  providence  and 
care.  This  inference  from  the  premises,  as  logical 
and  just,  is  substantiated  by  subsequent  and  specific 
teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  as  afterwards  given  for 
human  guidance. 

By  such  evidence  we  are  fortified  even  to  certi- 
tude in  our  conclusions,  as  to  the  fact,  the  source 
and  the  reliability  of  the  evidence  presented,  as  his- 
torical facts,  to  our  reasonable  faith. 

Hence,  the  traditions  we  are  now  contemplating 
are  not  the  traditions  of  the  Church  as  a  corporate 
ecclesiastical  body,  as  ultimately  developed  at  a  later 
age  of  the  world's  history,  and  comprehending  the 


106  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

false  and  the  true,  subjectively  considered,  but  the 
traditions  and  witness-bearing  of  elect,  spiritual  and 
true  witnesses,  whose  fidelity  and  capacity  for  such 
witness  bearing  is  justly  worthy  of  our  acceptance, 
as  a  Divine  provision  and  appointment,  although 
under  the  natural  operation  of  moral  and  spiritual 
law.     Further,  we  are  fortified  in  our  conclusion  by 
the  subsequent  dogmatic  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture 
as  to  the  office  of  the  Church,  primarily  considered, 
as  consisting  of  individual  believers ;  and  afterwards 
as  a  body  under  law,  as  a  permanent  element  in  His 
moral  government  of  mankind,  operative  as  such  in 
all  ages,  and  in  all  lands  where  His  revealed  will  is 
known.     As  then  the  traditions  we  are  considering 
are,  primarily  and  immediately  considered,  Divine 
traditions,  and  as  they  are,  mediately  considered, 
the  witnessing  act  of  believing  men,  so  they  may  be 
said   to  comprehend  and    include  historic  facts  of 
Theism,  and  subjective  facts  of  personal  and  inter, 
nal  experience  of  Divine  power,  and  of  Keligious 
truth.     The  one  has  a  specific  reference  to  man  as  a 
creature ;  the  other  has  reference  to  man  as  he  is  a 
fallen  being,  and  as  he  is  a  sinner.     Having  noticed 
the  permanency  of  all  Theistic  evidences,  as  elements 
of  the  Divine  Government,  I  may  here  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  twofold  aspect  of   what  may,  in  both  in- 
stances, be  termed  traditions  of  the  Church,  as  it  is 
regarded  in  its  normal  and  necessary  character ;  i.  e., 
as  a  living  church. 

The  traditionary  witnessing  and  testimony  of  the 


SACRED   TRADITIONS  107 

Church  as  to  the  historic  facts  of  Theism,  and  we 
may  say,  also,  as  to  objective  truth,  in  general,  of  a 
Theistic  character  had,  in  the  earlier  ages,  a  very 
evident  as  well  as  a  very  wide  sphere  of  operation. 
The  Church  when  organized  and  developed  under 
the  Mosaic  economy  was,  still,  a  witnessing  body  to 
many  nations ;  and  the  oral,  historic  traditions  of 
Theism,  as  to  facts  of  past  ages,  were  but  corrobo- 
rated by  dogmatic  testimony,  and  by  the  formulated 
ritual  of  the  Church,  as  a  religious  society  repre- 
senting a  developed  Theism  ;  while,  accompanying 
vocal  testimony,  and  inspired  revelation,  and  Divine 
organization,  a  moral  force  of  subjective  character, 
and  experience  was  declared,  in  various  measures, 
and  degrees,  to  sustain  and  to  verify  the  objective 
evidences. 

In  fact  we  may  say  that  the  great  missionary 
charge  given  by  our  Lord  to  the  Church  of  the  New 
Testament,  did  but  republish,  though  with  intensi- 
fied power  by  reason  of  the  ultimate  and  perfected 
historic  testimony,  a  fundamental  and  necessary 
element  of  Theism ;  that  is,  a  testimony,  vocal  and 
moral,  for  God,  from  believing  man  to  his  fellowmen. 

We  may  also  consider  that  the  prophetic  office, 
regarded  in  its  human  aspect,  does  but  represent  the 
development,  in  official  form  and  in  a  public  sphere, 
of  the  social  aspect  of  the  same  principle,  i.  <?.,  the 
testimony  and  declaration  from  man  to  men  of  the 
character  and  operation,  as  well  as  of  the  revealed 
Will  of  God. 


108  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

In  regard  to  the  pervading  influence  of  this  ele- 
ment of  Theism,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that,  as  a  con- 
fession, and  testimony  is  everywhere  in  God's  Word 
set  forth  as  a  practical  duty,  so  also,  that  tradition 
as  here  regarded,  and  as  distinctively  Divine,  pre- 
sents both  a  family  and  social,  and  a  national  and 
public  aspect. 

First,  in  regard  to  parental  traditions.  The  in- 
ferences that  we  draw  from  the  primary  facts,  the 
attendant  circumstances,  and  from  moral  and  spir- 
itual law,  are,  as  I  have  said,  fortified  by  subsequent 
teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  by  oblique  refer- 
ences to  such  facts,  inferences  and  dogmatic  pre- 
cepts. The  following  quotations  are  sufficient  to 
illustrate,  as  to  confirm  these  conclusions,  and 
justify  us  in  the  belief  that  they  refer  to  a  gener- 
ally recognized  law,  universally  operative. 

So  Iiezekiah  says  (Is.  38  :  19),  "  The  living,  the 
living,  he  shall  praise  Thee,  as  I  do  this  day ;  the 
fathers  to  the  children  shall  make  known  Thy 
truth."  So,  in  like  manner,  Moses,  in  his  song 
(Deut.  32  :  6,  8),  "  Kemember  the  days  of  old,  con- 
sider the  years  of  many  generations,  ask  thy  father, 
and  he  shall  shew  thee ;  thine  elders  and  they  will 
tell  thee."  So  David  says  (Ps.  U:  1),  "  We  have 
heard  with  our  ears,  O  God,  our  fathers  have  told 
us  what  Thou  didst  in  their  days,  in  the  times  of 
old."  Specially  pointed  is  the  teaching  of  Ps.  78 : 
1-8.  "  Give  ear  O  my  people  to  my  law,  incline 
your  ears  to  the  words  of  my  mouth.     I  will  open 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  109 

my  mouth  in  a  parable.  I  will  declare  dark  say- 
ings of  old,  which  we  have  heard  and  known,  and 
our  fathers  have  told  us.  We  will  not  hide  them 
from  the  children  of  the  generation  to  come,  the 
praises  of  the  Lord  and  His  strength  and  His  won- 
derful works  which  He  hath  done." 

I  have  quoted  the  above  passages  referring  to 
the  fact  of  such  oral  testimony ;  in  other  pas- 
sages to  which  I  will  refer,  we  read  of  a  dogmatic 
precept,  and  command,  that  such  oral  testimony 
should  be  given — primarily,  and  specially  from 
father  to  children ;  so  the  verses  that  follow  refer 
to  this  commandment,  and  connect  fact  with  pre- 
cept. 

(From  what  passages  I  shall  hereafter  adduce,  we 
may  see  that  confession  of  Jehovah  to  surrounding 
nations  was,  also,  set  forth  to  them  as  a  moral  obli- 
gation, as  well  as  a  definite  precept.) 

■ '  For,  He  commanded  a  testimony  in  Jacob,  and 
appointed  a  law  in  Israel,  which  He  commanded 
our  fathers  that  they  should  make  them  known  to 
their  children ;  that  the  generation  to  come  might 
know  them,  even  the  children  which  should  be 
born ;  who  should  arise  and  declare  them  to  their 
children  ;  that  they  might  set  their  hope  in  God, 
and  not  forget  the  works  of  God,  but  keep  His 
commandments.  In  Exodus  12  :  26,  27  ;  13  :  8,  and 
14 :  15,  it  is  anticipated  that  enquiry  would  be  made 
by  the  son  from  the  father,  as  to  the  reason  for  the 
Passover,  and  for  the  precepts  and  commandments, 


110  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

generally  ;  and,  so,  special  commands  are  given  for 
such  oral  teaching,  its  occasion,  character  and  the 
benefits  accruing,  viz.,  as  being  "for  our  good 
alway,  and  it  shall  be  our  righteousness,  if  we 
observe  to  do  all  these  statutes  before  the  Lord 
our  God,  as  He  hath  commanded  us  "  (Deut.  6 : 
20-25). 

I  have  distinguished  between  the  actual  fact  and 
the  dogmatic  precept  of  the  Most  High,  by  which 
the  perpetuity,  and  authority  of  sacred  traditions 
was,  subsequently,  established  and  secured.  I  will 
now  quote  a  passage  by  which  their  origin  is  trace- 
able to  a  plan  and  purpose  of  God's  moral  govern- 
ment, as  it  was  afterwards  ratified  by  Divine  pre- 
cept. "  And  that  thou  may  est  tell  in  the  ears  of 
thy  son,  and  of  thy  son's  son  what  things  I  have 
done  in  Egypt,  and  My  signs  which  I  have  done 
among  them ;  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am  the 
Lord"  (Ex.  10:  1,  2).  We  may  now  quote  the 
direct  precept  by  which  this  was  followed.  "  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  your  children  shall  say 
unto  you,  What  mean  ye  by  this  service  ?  Ye  shall 
say,  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  Passover,  who 
passed  over  the  houses  of  the  children  of  Israel  in 
Egypt  when  He  smote  the  Egyptians  and  delivered 
our  houses.  And  the  people  bowed  their  heads  and 
worshipped"  (Ex.  12:  26,  27).  Again,  u  And  thou 
shalt  shew  thy  son  in  that  day,  saying,  This  is  done 
because  of  that  which  the  Lord  did  to  me  when  I 
came  forth  out  of  Egypt.     And  it  shall  be  when 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  111 

thy  son  asketh  thee  in  time  to  come,  saying,  What 
is  this  ?  that  thou  shalt  say  unto  him,  By  strength 
of  hand  the  Lord  brought  us  out  from  Egypt,  from 
the  house  of  bondage ;  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Pharaoh  would  hardly  let  us  go,  that  the  Lord  slew 
all  the  first-born  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  both  the 
first-born  of  man,  and  the  first-born  of  beasts ; 
therefore,  I  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  all  that  openeth 
the  matrix,  being  males ;  and  all  the  first-born 
of  my  children,  I  redeem "  (Ex.  13  :  8,  14,  15). 
But  in  Deut,  11 :  18,  19,  such  injunction  and  pre- 
cept was  applied  to  all  the  Mosaic  law.  "  There- 
fore, shall  ye  lay  up  these  My  words  in  your  heart 
and  in  your  soul,  and  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon 
your  hands,  that  they  may  be  as  frontlets  between 
your  eyes.  And  ye  shall  teach  them  your  children, 
speaking  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine  house, 
and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  when  thou  liest 
down  and  when  thou  risest  up."  That  it  was  the 
purpose  of  God  that  such  testimony  and  tradition 
was  also  to  benefit  surrounding  nations  ;  and,  more- 
over, that  it  was  a  duty,  obligatory  upon  them,  so 
to  testify  unto  them  what  it  was  their  first  duty  to 
declare  unto  their  children,  the  following  passages 
are  evidence.  In  Ps.  96 :  3-10  we  read,  "  Tell  it 
out  among  the  heathen,  or  nations  (Goun)  that  the 
Lord  is  King,  and  that  He  hath  made  the  round 
world  so  sure  that  it  cannot  be  moved,  and  how 
that  He  shall  judge  the  people  righteously."  It  is 
noteworthy  that  in  this  passage  the  matters  of  tes- 


112  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

timony  to  be  given  are  the  primary  facts  of  Jehovah 
as  Creator,  and  Jehovah  as  the  righteous  Judge  of 
the  world ;  and  that  these,  as  primary  truths,  it  was 
their  special  duty  to  testify  and  declare. 

As  to  the  general  truth  of  the  fact  that  such 
traditions  did  reach  and  influence  surrounding  na- 
tions, and  that  the  salient  facts  of  Jewish  history 
were  so  set  forth  to  them  in  evidence,  other  pas- 
sages bear  record.  Thus ;  the  Gibeonites  assigned 
as  the  reason  of  their  policy  in  feigning  to  be 
ambassadors,  that  they  were  aware  of  the  Lord's 
command  to  Moses,  to  put  the  inhabitants  of 
Canaan  to  death.  And  Eahab  told  the  spies  that 
the  people  of  Jericho  had  heard  how  the  Lord  dried 
up  the  waters  of  the  Ked  Sea  before  them ;  also,  of 
what  He  had  done  to  Sihon  and  Og,  the  two  kings 
of  the  Amorites,  that  were  on  the  other  side 
Jordan;  that  the  Lord  had  given  them  the  land 
and  that  their  terror  was  fallen  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants (Joshua  2 :  8-12).  Also,  we  learn  from  Ex. 
18:  1,  that  Jethro  had,  similarly,  heard  of  all  that 
God  had  done  for  Moses,  and  for  Israel  His  people. 
But, — not  only  do  we  learn  of  these  facts  of  sacred 
traditions  reaching  heathen  nations,  and  also  that 
the  Israelites  were  charged  with  a  duty  in  this 
particular,  but  we  also  learn  from  Deut.  4 :  6-8, 
that  they  were  taught  to  consider  the  influence  that 
their  conduct,  in  general,  would  have  upon  those 
nations.  "  This  is  your  wisdom  and  understanding 
in  the  sight  of  the  nations   which   shall   hear  all 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  113 

these  statutes  and  say,  Surely  this  great  nation  is  a 
wise  and  understanding  people." 

Further,  the  plan  and  purpose  of  God  in  relation 
to  the  nations  at  large,  and  in  relation  to  the  Jews 
as  custodians  of  His  truth  is  incidentally  manifested 
by  various  utterances  in  the  Psalms  and  in  the 
Prophets.  In  the  thirty-sixth  chapter  of  the  proph- 
ecy of  Ezekiel,  the  twentieth  and  twenty-first 
verses,  Jehovah  charges  the  Jews  with  the  fact 
that  they  had  profaned  His  holy  name  among  the 
heathen  whither  they  went. 

The  same  charge  is  repeated  in  the  twenty-second 
and  twenty-third  verses.  In  the  twentieth  chapter 
at  the  ninth  and  fourteenth  verses,  He  declares  that 
He,  Jehovah,  Himself  wrought  for  His  holy  name 
that  it  should  not  be  polluted  before  the  heathen 
among  whom  they  were,  in  whose  sight  He  made 
Himself  known  unto  them,  in  bringing  them  forth 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  And,  again,  in  the  four- 
teenth verse,  He  declares  that,  notwithstanding 
their  rebellion  against  Him  in  the  wilderness,  He 
wrought  for  His  name's  sake  that  it  should  not  be 
polluted  before  the  heathen,  in  whose  sight  He 
brought  them  out. 

In  the  thirty-sixth  chapter  and  thirty-first  verse ; 
in  the  thirty-seventh  chapter  and  twenty-eighth 
verse,  and  also  in  the  thirty-ninth  chapter  and 
twenty-third  verse,  He  declares,  (1)  "  The  heathen 
that  are  left  round  about  yon  shall  know  that  I,  the 
Lord,  build  the  ruined  places,  and  plant  that  that  is 


114  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

desolate ; "  and  (2)  kk  The  heathen  shall  know  that 
I,  the  Lord,  do  sanctify  Israel,  when  My  sanctuary 
shall  be  in  the  midst  of  them  forevermore ; "  and 
(3)  "The  heathen  shall  know  that  the  house  of 
Israel  went  into  captivity  for  their  iniquity;  be- 
cause they  trespassed  against  Me,  therefore  I  hid 
My  face  from  them  and  gave  them  into  the  hand  of 
the  enemies ;  so  fell  they  all  by  the  sword "  (Ez. 
39  :  23). 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  language  of  Psalm 
98 :  3,  "  The  Lord  declared  His  salvation ;  His 
righteousness  hath  He  openly  shewed  in  the  sight 
of  the  nations ;  He  hath  remembered  His  mercy 
and  truth  towards  the  house  of  Israel ;  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth  have  seen  the  salvation  of  our  God." 
The  above  passages,  with  others  I  will  now  quote, 
constitute  some  of  those  indirect  references  to  this 
element  of  Theism,  similar  in  character  to  that 
which  is  made  in  Holy  Scripture  in  regard  to 
others,  as  well  as  to  historic  facts,  in  general,  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Thus  Deut.  4 :  22,  "  For  ask 
now  of  the  days  that  are  past,  since  the  day  that 
God  created  man  upon  the  earth  ;  and  ask  from  the 
one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other,  whether  there  hath 
been  any  such  thing  as  this  great  thing  is,  or  hath 
been  heard  like  it?"  And  Deut.  32:  7,  "Remem- 
ber the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of  many 
generations ;  ask  thy  father  and  he  will  shew  thee  ; 
thy  elders  and  they  will  tell  thee."  So,  Job  8  :  8, 
"  For,  enquire  I  pray  thee  of  the  former  age,  and 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  115 

prepare  thyself  to  the  search  of  thy  fathers."  And 
Job  15  :  9,  10,  "  What  knowest  thou  that  we  know 
not  ?  What  understanclest  thou  that  is  not  in  us? 
With  us  are  the  gray-headed  and  very  aged  men, 
much  elder  than  thy  father."  Also,  verses  seven- 
teen, eighteen,  nineteen,  "  I  will  shew  thee,  hear  me ; 
and  that  which  I  have  seen  will  I  declare ;  which 
wise  men  have  told  from  their  fathers,  and  have 
not  hid  it ;  unto  whom  alone  the  earth  was  given 
and  no  strangers  passed  among  them."  Again, 
Chapter  20  :  4,  5,  "  Knowest  thou  not  this  of  old, 
since  man  was  placed  upon  the  earth,  that  the 
triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short,  and  the  joy  of 
the  impious  man  is  but  for  a  moment."  Also,  Ps. 
135  :  13,  "  Thy  name  O  Jehovah  endureth  forever ; 
and  Thy  memorial  O  Jehovah  throughout  all  gen- 
erations." And  Ps.  145 :  1,  "  One  generation  shall 
praise  Thy  works  to  another,  and  shall  declare  Thy 
mighty  acts.  I  will  speak  of  the  glorious  honor  of 
Thy  majesty  and  of  Thy  wondrous  works.  And 
men  shall  speak  of  the  might  of  Thy  terrible  acts ; 
and  I  will  tell  of  Thy  greatness.  They  shall  abun- 
dantly utter  the  memory  of  Thy  great  goodness, 
and  shall  tell  of  Thy  righteousness.  They  shall 
speak  of  the  glory  of  Thy  kingdom  and  talk  of  Thy 
power ;  to  make  known  to  the  sons  of  men  His 
mighty  acts,  and  the  glorious  majesty  of  His  king- 
dom." So  Ps.  79 :  14,  "  So  we  Thy  people  and 
sheep  of  Thy  pasture  shall  give  Thee  thanks  for- 
ever ;  and   will  ever  be  shewing  Thy  truth  from 


116  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

generation  to  generation."1  So  Joel  1 :  2,  3,  "  Hear 
this,  ye  old  men,  and  give  ear,  all  ye  inhabitants  of 
the  land.  Hath  this  been  in  your  day  ?  or  even  in 
the  days  of  your  fathers  ?  Tell  your  children  of  it, 
and  let  your  children  tell  their  children,  and  their 
children  another  generation." 

This  does  not  exhaust  the  evidence  that  is  in- 
direct, and  oblique ;  and  for  that  reason  is  axio- 
matic. To  the  above  quotations  may  be  added  Ps. 
44  :  1,  2 ;  Ps.  19  ;  Ps.  67  :  1,  2  ;  Ps.  71 :  18 ;  Ps. 
96:3-10;  Ps.  97:6;  Ps.  98:2,  3;  Ps.  102:18; 
Ps.  33 :  11 ;  Ps.  15  :  10,  18. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  Prophet  Joel,  in  the 
passage  quoted,  as  well  as  many  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment writers,  makes  use  of  a  known  and  established 
practice  and  method  of  communication  to  empha- 
size, as  well  as  to  illustrate,  the  message  conveyed 
and  the  truth  declared. 

This  primitive  practice,  as  a  part  of  the  Divine 
economy  is,  by  God's  Holy  Spirit,  utilized  as  a  per- 
tinent, and  as  a  well-known  fact  for  this  purpose, 
as  it  is  so  incorporated  and  bound  up  with  His 
Holy  Word.  But,  such  evidence  when  a  written 
and    inspired  law  was  promulgated  and   declared, 

1  The  phrase  ' '  generation  to  generation, "  or  "  in  all  generations, ' ' 
and  the  like,  is  frequently  used  in  the  Old  Testament  Scripture, 
and  is,  everywhere,  to  be  regarded  as  a  reference  to  Sacred  Tradi- 
tion, either  in  their  family  or  national  aspect  and  relationship. 
This  goes  to  shew  how  completely  this  primary  element  of  Theism 
possessed  the  thoughts,  and  was  incorporated  in  the  life  and  history 
of  God's  ancient  people. 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  117 

was  not  only,  so,  consolidated,  and  as  an  element 
of  Theism  perpetuated  ;  it  was  also  developed  and 
extended.  As  representing  the  testimony  of  be- 
lieving men,  under  moral  and  spiritual  law  of  God's 
government,  and  as  representing  their  individual 
experience,  as  a  subjective  result  of  God's  power 
and  truth,  we  may  quote  Ps.  66  :  16,  "  O  come 
hither  and  hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  de- 
clare what  He  hath  done  for  my  soul." 

We  may  also  consider  that,  cognate  in  character 
is  the  corporate  confession  of  the  Church  of  the 
same  fact  of  God's  truth  and  salvation ;  and  that 
there  is  an  indirect  reference  to  this  established 
usage  and  recognized  element  of  Theism  when  St. 
Paul  says  in  1  Tim  1 :  15,  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying 
and  worthy  of  all  acceptation  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  In  like  man- 
ner in  Titus  3 :  8,  St.  Paul  affirms  "  This  is  a  faith- 
ful saying,  and  these  things  will  I  that  thou  affirm 
constantly  that  they  which  have  believed  in  God  be 
careful  to  maintain  good  works.  These  things  are 
good  and  profitable  unto  men."  So  also  in  2  Tim. 
2:  11  he  says  "It  is  a  faithful  saying,  for  if  we  be 
dead  with  Him,  we  shall  also  live  with  Him ;  if  we 
suffer  we  shall  also  reign  with  Him;  if  we  deny 
Him,  He  also  will  deny  us ;  if  we  believe  not,  He 
abideth  faithful;  He  cannot  deny  Himself."  To 
this  he  adds,  "  Of  these  things,  put  them  in  remem- 
brance." 

Again  in  2  Thess.  3 :  6,  he  says  of  some  that  they 


118  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

walk  "  not  according  to  the  traditions  which  he  re- 
ceived of  us."  It  is  evident  that, — here,— the  ref- 
erence of  the  apostle  is  to  his  own  oral  teaching. 
Elsewhere  he  says,  with  the  same  reference, 
"Whether  by  word,  or  our  epistle  "  (2  Thess.  2  :  15). 
It  is  noticeable,  here,  that  in  the  case  of  oral  teach- 
ing, Divinely  enjoined,  of  the  fathers  to  the  chil- 
dren, that  testimony  which  at  first  was  spontaneous, 
and  grounded  upon  a  principle  native  to  our 
common  humanity,  but  which,  under  Divine  guid- 
ance, and  the  influence  of  a  Divine  faith,  became 
also  a  spiritual  characteristic,  as  well  as  a  Divine 
ordinance,  passed  from  a  spontaneous  and  natural 
disposition  to  a  settled  principle  of  the  Divine 
economy,  as  a  dogmatic  principle  and  command- 
ment. 

We  can  at  least  say  of  the  office  of  the  preacher 
and  of  preaching  as  a  Divine  ordinance,  that  it  is 
cognate,  if  not  identical,  both  in  its  origin  and 
primary  character,  with  Divine  tradition.  We 
trace,  however,  a  distinction,  in  that  traditional 
testimony  which  belongs  to  the  believer  upon  God, 
and  that  which  is  general  in  its  operation  and 
character ;  and  so,  yet  more  specifically  of  that  oral 
teaching  or  tradition  peculiar  to  the  Apostolate,  as 
official  teachers  and  messengers  of  the  Most  High. 

In  either  case,  this  traditional  teaching  is  Divine, 
as  distinguished  from  human,  both  in  its  original 
and  in  its  character  and  authority,  and,  in  Holy 
Scripture,  stands  contrasted  with  "  the  traditions  of 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  119 

men," — merely — both  in  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul, 
and  in  that  of  our  Saviour  Himself,  in  regard  to 
rabbinical  traditions. 

Also  another  instance  is  afforded,  by  this  subject, 
to  illustrate  the  relation  between  natural  and  supra- 
natural,  or  revealed  religion.  It  is  the  necessary 
and  close  relationship  of  the  foundation  to  the 
superstructure.  There  is  homogeneity  of  charac- 
ter, and  perfect  unity  of  relation. 

These  considerations  go  to  show  the  distinctive 
character,  and  the  impregnable  basis  of  Divine  tra- 
dition, as  an  elementary  principle  of  Biblical 
Theism,  and  as  an  integral  part  thereof.  In  com- 
mon with  all  the  elements  of  natural  religion,  it  is 
consolidated  in,  and  identified  with  Holy  Scripture, 
as  essentially  Divine ;  and  it  is  radically  separate 
from  the  traditions  of  men,— merely, — whether  in 
regard  to  things  secular,  or  to  things  ecclesiastical. 

Hence,  all  traditions,  of  whatever  character,  or 
from  wheresoever  derived,  and  even  although  pre- 
sented by  the  corporate  authority  of  the  Church, 
as  a  Divinely  instituted  organization,  is  essentially 
subordinate  to,  and  must  be  tried  by  the  one  Divine 
rule  of  Holy  Scripture  as  the  final  test  of  all  that 
claims  Divine  sanction  or  authority  ;  neither  can 
any  ecclesiastical  corporation  take  away  the  indi- 
vidual right  of  private  judgment,  in  the  interpreta- 
tion of  Holy  Writ  which  is  secured  to  him  therein 
and  thereby ;  as,  for  the  exercise  of  such  freedom 
he  is,  by  the  same  law,  made  individually  responsi- 


120  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ble  to  God,  only ;  that  is  to  say,  as  he  is  an  in 
dividual,  and  not  an  official  member  of  the  Church, 
and  so  related  thereto.  The  evidence  is,  I  think, 
established  that  by  God's  works  in  nature,  in  provi- 
dence, and  in  the  human  conscience,  we  have  a 
primary,  powerful,  and  sufficient  witness  to  the  fact 
of  a  personal  and  perfect  First-Cause  as  Creator  of 
the  universe  ;  and,  as  related  to  this  fact,  requiring 
from  man  by  reason  of  such  evidence,  his  faith 
in,  and  obedience  to  Him  ;  it  is  now  to  be  consid- 
ered that  this  has  not,  from  a  very  early  period, 
been  the  sole  evidence.  The  direct,  immediate,  his- 
toric knowledge  of  Paradise  and  of  the  Fall,  Avould 
go  down  as  facts,  from  Adam  to  his  immediate  de- 
scendants. The  murder  of  Abel,  and  the  curse  of 
Cain  would  be  equally  patent,  as  facts  in  evidence. 
The  direct  supernatural  messages  and  communica- 
tions from  God  to  men,  to  which  more  full  and  par- 
ticular reference  will  hereafter  be  made,  would  be 
equally  well  established  as  facts  of  history  ;  and  all 
these  further  fortified  by  the  mediate  and  sub- 
jective agency  and  testimony  of  those  who  had  be- 
come subjects  of  God's  moral  government  by  faith 
and  obedience.  The  vocal  and  personal  testimony 
of  believers  would  continuously  preserve  and  reecho 
these  facts  in  evidence,  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion ;  and  we  may  conclude  that  by  a  natural  proc- 
ess of  moral  and  spiritual  law,  the  means  and 
avenues  of  knowledge  of  God  were  sufficiently 
available  to  all  who  did    not,  culpably,    by   negli- 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  121 

gence,  or  willfulness  close  their  eyes  and  their  hearts 
to  its  influences.  These  considerations  serve, 
further,  to  declare  the  deadly  and  terrible  character 
of  sin,  as  a  law  inherited  by  man,  after  the  Fall, 
dominating  his  moral  nature,  and  blinding,  control- 
ling and  possessing,  under  Satanic  influences,  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  the  great  majority  ;  not  by  un- 
avoidable, or  physical  necessity,  but  by  the  guilty 
and  inexcusable  character  of  depraved  and  wicked 
choice,  against  light,  evidence  and  conviction,  con- 
cerning God,  as  a  God  of  goodness,  as  well  as  a 
God  of  truth.  There  is  not  room  to  doubt  that  the 
same  principle  of  condemnation  obtained  then,  as 
was  declared  at  a  later  period  by  our  Lord,  under — 
it  is  true — a  far  more  effulgent,  but  not  necessarily 
a  more  effective  light ;  "  This  is  the  condemnation 
that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved 
darkness,  rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds 
were  evil."  The  conclusions  resulting  from  the 
evidence  in  regard  to  tradition  afford  a  substantial 
basis  for  both  general  and  particular  inferences. 
(1)  General, — in  regard  to  Theism,  as  a  whole.  As 
the  natural  evidences,  objective  and  subjective,  are 
Divinely  correlated  to  each  other,  and  unified  in  co- 
operative testimony  to  Him  who  is  their  Author, 
so,  also,  are  natural  and  supra-natural  evidences  so 
correlated  and  unified.  While  the  several  lines  of 
evidence  are  clearly  marked,  so  that  they  are  not 
fused  with  each  other,  or  evolved  one  from  the 
other,  they  are  so  interwoven  with  each  other  that 


122  THErSM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

they  are  perfectly  unified  both  in  character  and 
operation.  They  evidence  a  Divinely  ordered 
cumulation  of  a  distinctive  character  and  purpose, 
in  harmonious  operation  to  a  definite  end.  In  such 
cumulative  progression,  man's  distinctive  ontolog- 
ical  character  and  moral  nature,  as  witnessed  to  by 
the  creative  power  and  providence  of  God,  is  made 
the  unalterable  and  stable  basis.  God,  as  Creator ; 
and  Man,  as  His  handiwork,  are  the  two  great 
factors  in  evidence  ;  and,  in  the  consolidation  of 
that  primary  evidence,  the  Divine  transcendency  is 
further  magnified  in  the  operation  of  His  moral 
government.  The  supra-natural  in  Theistic  evidence 
is  clearly  manifested  as  one  in  character,  in  relation 
to  origin,  with  the  natural ;  and  as  an  instance  only, 
it  may  be  observed  that,  in  selecting  and  qualifying 
those  who  were  to  bear  the  ultimate  and  final 
revelation  of  His  character  and  will  to  men,  in  a 
written,  spiritual  and  infallible  rule  of  truth  and 
duty,  as  summarizing,  consolidating  and  unifying 
all  the  evidences  of  Himself  in  a  Divine  Comple- 
mentum  ;  He  adopted  and  used,  as  He  consecrated 
and  directed  the  very  idiosyncrasies  of  their  human 
nature,  circumstances  and  surroundings  ;  while  He 
made  their  thoughts,  and  their  utterances,  peculiarly 
His  own,  as  the  expression  of  His  counsel  and  will. 
(2)  In  regard  to  the  particular  subject  before  us, 
it  is  clearly  true  that  we  have  ample  evidence  to 
justify  us  in  the  acceptance  of  a  clear  and  definite 
principle  in  regard  to  Divine  tradition  as  an  element 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  123 

of  Theism  ;  (a)  that  God  has  made  the  faculties  of 
thought  and  language,  and  the  social  habits,  and  de- 
sires of  our  common  humanity  to  be  a  fitting  instru- 
mentality by  which  to  transmit  from  one  generation 
of  men  to  another  a  record  of  the  facts  of  His  provi- 
dence and  government  in  the  world;  and,  while 
this  principle  holds  good  as  a  universal  truth  in  re- 
gard to  the  historical  facts  of  His  providence  and 
government,  it  has  (b)  a  further  and  special  verifi- 
cation in  regard  to  the  witness-bearing  and  testi- 
mony of  those,  who  by  faith  and  obedience,  have 
obtained  knowledge  of  Him,  by  personal  and  special 
experience  of  His  character.  To  such,  a  witness- 
bearing  for  Him  is  made  not  only  a  spiritual  and 
distinctive  characteristic ;  but,  by  a  Divine  com- 
mand, it  has  become,  to  them  a  special  and  peculiar 
duty  ;  this  we  have  already  noticed. 

In  summarizing  our  conclusion  from  the  evidence, 
I  would  say  that  there  is  reason  to  conclude  that,  as 
God  has  consolidated  and  developed  other  of  the 
elements  of  His  moral  government, — so,  has  He  con- 
solidated and  developed  that  of  Sacred  Tradition,  by 
a  cumulative,  and  culminatory  process  of  develop- 
ment, as  opposed  to  an  evolutionary  process.  The 
distinctive  element  is  not  abolished  nor  superseded  ; 
it  is  developed  and  consolidated,  as  an  integral  part 
of  one  great  whole ;  and,  as  the  written  and  inspired 
Word  is  the  Complementum  of  Theism,  uniting  all 
its  elements  in  one  organic  whole,  while  preserving 
to  each  its  distinctive  character, — so  is  this  principle 


124  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

maintained  and  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Sacred 
Tradition.  In  a  similar  way  to  that  by  Avhich  ail 
the  Books  of  Holy  Scripture  are,  so,  unified  and 
consolidated,  i.  <?.,  both  by  specific  and  by  oblique 
testimony  to  each  other ;  by  literal  quotation,  and 
by  indirect  reference  (which,  as  it  is  permeative  and 
collateral  is  the  most  powerful  testimony),  so  is  it 
true  as  to  tradition.  There  is  a  constant  reference 
to  it,  as  an  axiomatic  fact ;  and,  further  than '  this, 
not  only  has  this  tendency  of  our  ontological  nature 
been  utilized  by  our  great  Creator  to  the  ends  of 
His  moral  government,  but,  this  primary  principle 
has  been  extended  and  developed, — not  only  by  dis- 
tinct precept,  but  to  extended  methods  and  uses.  In 
evidence  of  this  I  quote  the  words  of  St.  Paul  in  2 
Thess.  2:  15,  "Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast,  and 
hold  the  traditions  which  ye  have  been  taught, 
whether  by  word,  or  our  epistle."  Again  in  2  Thess. 
5:6,  "  Now  we  command  you  brethren,  in  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  ye  withdraw  your- 
selves from  every  brother  that  walketh  disorderly 
and  not  after  the  traditions  which  he  received  of 
us."  The  evidence  afforded  by  Holy  Scripture  justi- 
fies the  following  deductions;  (1)  That  the  terms 
Tradition,  or  "  Saying,"  as  a  Scripture  phrase,  de- 
clares oral  testimony  to  an  actual  and  reliable  fact ; 
(2)  That  such  oral  testimony  is  the  testimony  of  be- 
lieving men ;  (3)  That  it  has  the  seal  of  Divine  ap- 
proval and  authority,  as  emanating  from  Him ;  (4) 
That  such  testimony  is  cumulative,  and  culminatory 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  125 

in  character ;  and  in  such  ultimate  use  and  expres- 
sion, the  phrase  describes  both  oral  teaching  and 
testimony  by  a  Divine  messenger,  and  also  the  ulti- 
mate and  inspired  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture 
itself,  with  which  it  is  unified  and  into  which  it  is, 
finally,  merged. 

I  think  that  we  are  amply  justified  in  concluding 
that,  as  by  a  general  principle,  the  revelation  of 
God,  in  Holy  Scripture  is  of  a  cumulative  and  cul- 
minatory  character,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  evo- 
lution (in  which  the  previous  portions  are  super- 
seded by,  and  merged  in  what  succeeds  them)  so, 
that  the  primary  and  initial  uses  of  Divine  tradition, 
anterior  to  inspiration  of  a  written  record,  are  not 
superseded  by,  or  in  that  record ;  yet,  neverthe- 
less such  initial  and  oral  tradition  retains  its  dis- 
tinctive force  and  value  for  us  both  in  the  past  and 
in  the  present,  as  an  element  of  God's  moral  govern- 
ment, and  as  a  revelation  from  Him  ;  and  that  while 
it  is,  so,  perpetuated,  as  a  Theistic  element,  it  is 
made  cumulative,  and  culminatory  in  its  character 
as  it  is  incorporated  in  the  completed  Canon  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  as  the  Complementum,  or 
fullness  of  God's  revelation  of  Himself.  It  is,  here, 
I  think,  pertinent  and  apposite  to  quote  the  language 
of  St.  John,  in  the  19th  chapter,  and  part  of  the  19th 
verse  of  his  apocalypse.  "  And  He  said  unto  me, 
these  are  the  true  sayings  of  God."  Also  I  would 
notice  that,  in  the  last  chapter,  the  same  use  is  made 
of  the  word,  "  sayings," — "  sayings  of  the  prophecy 


126  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  this  Book,"  in  which  the  reference,  in  this  last 
revelation  of  God  to  His  Church,  to  the  principle  of 
Sacred  Traditions,  and  testimony  for  God,  is  pecul- 
iarly solemn  and  noteworthy.  Thus — so  far  from 
the  primary  element  of  Sacred  Tradition  having 
fallen  into  disuse,  or  been  superseded  by  subsequent 
revelations,  it  has  been,  in  the  plan  of  God's  govern- 
ment, both  perpetuated  and  consolidated  in  Holy 
Scripture.  It  remains  to  state,  briefly,  the  relation 
of  this  subject  to  "  Lux  Mundi,"  and  the  "  Higher 
Criticism."  This  is  declared,  by  themselves,  to  be 
that  of  an  issue  between  tradition  and  philosophy, 
or  science,  as  its  equivalent.  They,  themselves, 
identify  the  Bible  with  Sacred  Tradition,  as  one  in 
character  and  origin,  but  they  reject  all  that,  in  the 
Bible,  so  distinguishes  it  from  philosophy,  and  they 
would  fuse  philosophy  with  the  supra-natural,  or 
traditional  element,  in  order  to  purify  it  from  im- 
morality !  Why  would  they  so  fuse  it  ?  Because 
they  recognize  that  tradition  (or  the  Divine  super- 
natural) antagonizes  philosophy,  or,  the  theory  of 
evolution,  as  they  propound  it ;  and  as,  with  them, 
a  first  and  essential  element  of  truth,  both  objective 
and  subjective. 

Let  us,  first,  notice  that,  in  so  doing,  they  are 
logically  required  to  renounce  Theism  altogether; 
seeing  that  the  distinctive  principle  of  Theism  is  to 
be  abolished,  or,  nullified  by  its  fusion  with  phi- 
losophy. But,  there  is  not, — nor  can  be, — any 
fusion  possible  between  Tradition  and  Theism  as  a 


SACRED   TRADITIONS  127 

supra-natural  element, — and  philosophy  ;  there  is 
not, — nor  can  be, — any  homogeneity  between  them, 
either  objectively,  as  systems,  or  subjectively,  as 
governing,  and  actuating  principles  of  life  and  con- 
duct. And,  as  there  is  no  inherent  homogeneity, 
therefore  they  cannot  be  fused  together,  so  as 
through  "  Evolution  by  antagonism,"  to  purify,  or 
eliminate,  the  distinctive  element  in  Theism  which 
they  characterize  as  "immoral"  !  And,  as  I  deny, 
that  there  is  any  actual  homogeneity  between  The- 
ism, or  the  worship  of  one  living  and  true  God 
(whether  viewed  objectively  or  subjectively)  and 
the  worship  of  false  gods,  represented  by  the  various 
false  systems  of  religion  (and  such  homogeneity  is 
asserted  by  "Lux  Mundi");  so  do  I,  also,  deny 
that  there  can  be  any  fusion  possible,  because  there 
is  no  homogeneity  between  the  principles  of 
natural  science,  or  philosophy,  and  the  distinctively 
spiritual,  because  Divine  truth,  characterizing  God's 
Holy  Word,  and  that  worship  of  the  living  and  true 
God  which  is  based  upon  it.  But,  it  is  to  be  re- 
marked that  such  homogeneity  is  here,  also,  as- 
serted by  "Lux  Mundi."  All  truth  of  whatever 
kind  is  put  on  the  same  footing ;  and  as  a  conse- 
quence, all  inspiration  in  the  proper  and  theistic 
sense  of  the  word,  is  flatly  denied.  On  the  other 
hand, — as  to  the  issue  between  Biblical  Tradition 
and  philosophic  criticism  of  the  Bible, — Sacred  Tra- 
ditions are, — as  I  have  hereinbefore  shewn, — en- 
tirely homogeneous  with  elementary  Theism,  from 


128  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  concurrent  testimony  both  of  the  works,  and  of 
the  Word  of  God. 


Synopsis  of  Chapter  VI 

Sacred  Traditions  as  a  Biblical  Element:  Infer- 
ential argument  therefrom  (1)  as  to  natural  evi- 
dences, (2)  as  to  supernatural  evidences  or  sacred 
history. 

Biblical  theists  are  assailed  at  the  threshold  of 
the  theistic  argument  by  an  anti-theistic  attack 
upon  the  character  and  the  foundations  of  the 
whole  Bible.  This  attack  consists  in  a  denial  of 
the  traditional  basis  upon  which  it  rests.  They 
wish  to  abolish  its  distinctive  character  as  a  sacred 
Book,  and  that,  both  in  its  historical  and  in  its 
doctrinal  aspects.  First,  it  has  been  asserted,  but 
not  proved,  that  the  Bible  contradicts  the  ascer- 
tained facts  of  science  and  natural  law.  Their 
second  assertion  consists  in  a  virtual,  but  a  thinly 
disguised  denial,  in  toto,  of  its  distinctive  character 
and  origin,  as  a  whole,  and  as  an  inspired  and 
sacred  record.  We  may  here  recapitulate  our 
previous  conclusions. 

(1)  As  to  the  intrinsic  evidences,  contained  in 
nature,  to  the  Being  of  God,  as  Creator,  and  the 
concurrent  testimony  contained  in  the  Bible,  in  re- 
lation thereto,  and  as  to  the  unification  of  natural 
and  supernatural  evidences  therein. 


SACRED   TRADITIONS  129 

(2)  Our  second  conclusion  has  been  as  to  a 
similar  result  from  a  study  of  the  subjective  side  of 
the  evidences ;  and  that  God  is,  so,  knowable  from 
the  evidences  contained  in  objective  nature. 

From  both  of  these  sides  of  the  evidence  we  have 
learned  the  essential  unity,  so  established,  between 
natural  and  supernatural  religion,  and  that  the 
Bible  is  cumulative  and  culminatory  evidence  for 
God,  upon  this  basis,  i.  e.,  the  testimony  of  ob- 
jective nature  to  the  existence  and  personality  of 
God. 

Our  third  and  fourth  chapters  do  but  amplify 
this  evidence  by  consideration  of  the  Personality 
and  Providence  of  God,  as  related  thereto. 

Our  sixth  chapter  deals  with  sacred  tradition,  as 
a  necessary  sequence  from  the  existence  of  the 
Church ;  as  the  Church  is  such  a  sequence  from  (a) 
objective  theism,  and  (b)  from  the  probation  of 
man,  as  a  sinner.  Sacred  traditions,  similarly,  are 
a  characteristic  and  a  consequence  of  the  nature  of 
the  Church,  in  its  elemental  character,  as  a  confess- 
ing, or  testifying  body. 

The  fact  is  established  that,  as  Biblical  theism 
discloses  the  unification  of  Natural  and  Kevealed 
Religion,  and,  also,  that  sacred  traditions,  as  they 
permeate  and  pervade  the  whole  of  the  Bible,  are, 
as  an  element  of  theism,  perpetuated  and  consol- 
idated in  the  New  Testament.  We  have,  thus,  a 
logical  proof  that  the  unity  of  Natural  and  Super- 
natural Religion,  so  established,  and  the  unity,  as 


130  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

well  as  the  cumulative  and  culminatory  character 
of  the  Bible  as  a  whole,  establishes  the  fact,  and 
also  the  Divine  authority  of  sacred  tradition,  (1)  as 
it  relates  to  creation,  and  primitive  man,  and  (2)  as 
to  the  essential  character  and  the  Divine  sources  of 
all  the  inspired  writings  of  which  the  Bible  is  com- 
posed. 

"We  may,  now,  observe  how  gratuitous  and  illog- 
ical from  a  theistic  standpoint,  is  the  assertion  that 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  to  be  regarded, 
simply,  as  Jewish  literature.  To  do  this  is  to 
ignore,  if  not  to  deny  the  essential  unity  between 
Natural  and  Eevealed  Eeligion  and  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  but,  inferentially,  to  deny  the 
basis  of  both,  i.  e.,  the  personality  of  God. 

Objective  nature,  as  has  been  proved,  bears  in- 
herent testimony  to  God  as  First-Cause  and  Creator ; 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  bear  similar  in- 
herent testimony  to  Him  as  such,  and  to  the  essen- 
tial unity  between  Natural  and  Eevealed  Eeligion. 

The  Pentateuch  gives  us  consistent,  credible  and 
inherent  testimony  to  the  fact,  not  alone  of  crea- 
tion as  the  act  of  God, — and  to  the  facts  of  man's 
history  upon  the  earth  from  that  time  onwards, — 
but,  it  gives  a  statement  of  the  fact  that  God  as 
Creator  and  Governor  of  the  world,  after  the  flood, 
as  a  consequence  of  man's  fall  from  Him,  and  of 
prevailing  iniquity,  chose  one  man,  Abraham  and 
his  posterity,  to  be  a  separate  people  in  the  earth 
to  His  name,  and  that  "  to  them  He  committed  the 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  131 

oracles  of  God  "  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  written  and  in- 
spired law  contained  in  the  five  books  of  Moses, 
and  that  of  these  books,  as  of  His  religion,  He  made 
them  custodians  and  witnesses  to  the  world  for 
Him  (Is.  43  :  10-12).  This  is  the  consistent,  logical, 
conclusive  and  credible  evidence  that  is  afforded  to 
us  through  the  Jewish  church,  as  founded  of  God, 
and  through  its  accredited  and  Divine  traditions, 
not  merely,  or  simply  of  their  history,  as  a  people, 
but  the  history  of  the  world,  and  of  man,  and  of 
God  as  related  thereto,  and  a  history  that  is  essen- 
tially sacred  and  Divine,  both  in  its  origin  and 
character,  and  designed  and  provided  of  God  as  a 
Divine  and  certain  light  to  guide  all  men  to  the 
knowledge  of  His  character  and  will. 
Summary, — 

(1)  There  is  intrinsic  evidence  in  Holy  Scripture 
as  to  the  solidarity  and  perpetuity  of  sacred  tradi- 
tions, as  a  Divine  law  embodied  therein.  This  fact 
is  so  established. 

(2)  From  the  evidence  so  afforded  we  find  that 
the  Bible,  as  a  Divine  record,  is  based  upon  in 
trinsic  evidences  contained  in  nature,  to  God  as 
Creator  and  Moral  Governor,  and,  as  such  evidence 
includes  man,  himself,  in  the  unity  of  nature. 

(3)  The  natural  and  logical  result  of  this  is,  that 
the  Bible,  as  the  Book  of  God,  stands  identified,  in 
its  origin  and  composition,  with  tradition  as  a 
Divine  law,  because  of  such  intrinsic  evidence. 
Thus,  also,  natural  religion  and  the  Bible  are  bound 


132  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

up  together  ;  they  stand  or  fall  together,  i.  c,  either 
the  Bible,  as  revealed  evidence  from  God,  is  a  God- 
given  book,  through  sacred  tradition,  or  the  whole 
matter  of  its  testimony,  with  it,  is  null  and  void. 
The  argument  thus  given  shows  that  the  Bible  is 
in  its  structure,  the  unification  of  Natural  and  Re- 
vealed Religion,  and  in  its  texture  stands  identified 
with  sacred  tradition  ;  this  fact,  alone,  does  in 
itself,  contain  complete  and  logical  evidence  that 
the  Bible  is  the  Book  of  God,  as  it  gives  similar 
evidence  for  the  primary  and  fundamental  truth  of 
God  as  Creator  and  Moral  Governor  of  the  universe. 
As  subsidiary  testimony  .and  coherent  therewith 
there  is  an  additional  fact  that  remains  to  be  stated 
as  an  important  factor  in  evidence  to  the  character 
and  source  of  the  Pentateuch.  We  have  seen  that, 
upon  examination,  the  whole  texture  of  Scripture 
is  interwoven  with  sacred  tradition  ;  it  is  now  to  be 
noticed  that  it  is,  therein,  explicitly  stated  in  several 
places,  that  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  as  sacred 
books,  were  delivered  to  the  Jews,  through  the 
Patriarchs  or  Fathers. 

St.  Paul,  in  summarizing  the  privileges  possessed 
by  the  Jews,  asks  the  question  (Rom.  3 :  1, 2), 
"What  advantage  then  hath  the  Jews?  or  what 
profit  is  there  of  circumcision?"  The  answer  is, 
"  Much  every  way  ;  chiefly,  that  unto  them  were 
committed  the  oracles  of  God,"  ra  Xoyia  too  few,  or 
the  revelations  of,  or  proceeding  from  God.  Again 
he  says  (Rom.  9  :  4,  5),  "  To  whom  pertaineth  the 


SACRED  TRADITIONS  133 

adoption,  and  the  glory  (i.  e.,  Shechniah)  and  the 
covenants  (Abrahamic  and  Mosaic),  and  the  giving 
of  the  Law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the 
promises ;  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom, 
as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came,  who  is  over 
all,  God  blessed  forever."  Our  Lord  makes  a  brief 
reference  of  a  similar  character.  "  Moses  therefore 
gave  unto  you  circumcision  ;  not  because  it  is  of 
Moses  but  of  the  fathers"  (John  7  :  22).  Again, 
Stephen,  when  addressing  the  Jews,  stated  facts 
which  he  knew  to  be  recognized  by,  as  well  as 
familiar  to  them,  as  such,  in  connection  with  their 
history  ;  and,  speaking  of  Moses,  he  says,  "  This  is 
he  that  was  with  the  church  in  the  wilderness,  with 
the  angel  that  spake  to  him  in  Mount  Sinai ;  and 
with  our  fathers ;  who  received  the  lively  oracles 
to  give  unto  us  "  (Acts  7  :  38).  By  the  expression 
"  our  fathers,"  in  this  place,  is  to  be  understood 
to  Jews  who  werecotemporaries  with  Moses  ;  while 
in  the  previous  quotation  is  meant  the  Patriarchs, 
as  seen  by  the  antithesis  drawn  by  our  Saviour, 
pointing  to  an  earlier,  and  more  primitive  origin. 
Confining  then  the  interpretation  of  this  latter 
passage  to  Moses,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  we  find 
the  communications  so  spoken  of,  described  as 
Xoyta  swv  ra?,  or  living  communications.  Our  author- 
ized translation  gives  us  a  similar  idea.  From  both 
phrases  we  draw  the  just  inference  of  a  distinctive 
and  spiritual  character,  and,  such  being  the  in- 
herent distinction  so  described,  they  were,  so,  re- 


134  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ceived  of  Moses,  and  by  him  to  be  delivered  and 
handed  clown,  as  such  to  the  Jewish  church.  The 
meaning  of  Stephen's  words  is,  that  they  were 
given,  received  and  handed  down  as  sacred  books; 
as  such  received  by  the  Jewish  church,  and  as  such 
handed  down  through  them  to  us,  to  be  so  regarded, 
kept  and  transmitted.  Our  Lord,  we  cannot  doubt, 
refers  to  this  trust  when  He  says,  "  The  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof "  (Matt. 
21 :  43). 

The  Jews,  as  is  well  known,  always  so  regarded 
all  the  Old  Testament,  as  sacred  books  and  have 
jealously  kept  them.  "  Our  Lord  refers  to  this  fact 
when  He  says,  "  Search  the  Scriptures,  Ta$-ysa<pa$  for 
in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  Me"  (John  5 :  39). 

The  facts  herein  referred  to  are  to  be  regarded  as 
historically  coherent  with  the  conclusion  established 
by  our  main  argument ;  and  as  a  logical  as  well  as 
necessary  sequence  therefrom. 


CHAPTEK  VII 

PEOPHECY  AND  THE  PKOPHETIC  OFFICE 

We  have  seen  that  the  Church  in  its  being  and 
character  has  its  origin  under  conditions  fundamen- 
tal to  the  Divine  government.  It  is  a  moral  elimi- 
nation, under  moral  trial ;  under  the  operation  of 
moral  and  spiritual  law ;  under  the  personal  hand 
of  a  righteous,  beneficent  and  sovereign  moral  gov- 
ernor. We  have  also  seen  that  the  foundations  of 
God's  moral  government  are  laid  in  those  manifes- 
tations which  He  has  given  of  His  character  and 
being,  as  Creator  and  Preserver  of  men,  and  in  the 
moral  and  ontological  qualities  of  our  nature,  to 
which  that  evidence  is  addressed.  These  evidences 
are  the  broad  and  universal  basis  of  His  claims  as 
moral  governor ;  and  to  these,  in  His  Holy  Word, 
continual  references  are  made.  We  are  left  in  no 
doubt,  however,  that  mankind  has,  at  no  stage  of 
human  history,  been  left  entirely  without  immedi- 
ate manifestations  of  God's  glorious  personality,  and 
of  His  minute  superintendence  of  the  affairs  of  men. 
The  mediate  evidence  of  God,  under  natural  law, 
has  been,  and  is  accompanied  by  immediate  and  su- 
pra-natural disclosures,  ratifying  and  confirming  that 
evidence. 

135 


136  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Our  present  enquiry  is  as  to  the  relation  of  Proph- 
ecy and  the  Prophetic  office  to  the  government 
of  God  under  the  economy  of  natural,  as  distin- 
guished from  revealed  religion. 

With  the  primary  facts  before  us,  to  which  I  have 
referred,  we  are  in  a  position  to  draw  just  and  re- 
liable inferences  in  solution  of  this  question  ;  and 
these  are  guided  and  ratified  by  the  historical  evi- 
dence ;  I  mean,  by  the  recorded  witness  of  Holy 
Scripture.  The  statements  there  made,  come  to  us 
sustained  and  commended  by  objective  evidence,  and 
facts  of  our  own  consciousness. 

Under  the  guidance  of  this  rule  we  have  already 
concluded  as  to  the  conditions  of  the  Church's  being, 
and  the  sphere  of  its  influence  as  a  witness  for  God. 
We  have  found  it  to  be  in  that  of  individual  charac- 
ter and  family  relation. 

Under  these  formative  conditions  God  was  known 
and  declared  as  the  God  of  the  individual,  and  of 
the  family  and  household.  As  a  body  corporate, 
the  Church  was  not  then  organized  under  law  and 
ritual.  Consequently,  a  similar  conclusion  is  to  be 
drawn  in  regard  to  prophecy  and  the  prophetic 
office.  Regarding  the  existence  of  the  Church  as 
due  to  conditions  of  moral  probation  and  the  en- 
trance of  sin,  and  as  a  moral  sequence  therefrom, 
we  may  properly  consider  that,  under  such  condi- 
tions, the  supra-natural  gift  of  prophecy,  and  the 
office  of  Prophet,  is  a  further  sequence  of  a  similar 
character ;  while,  at  the  same  time  a  Divine  and  a 


THE  PROPHETIC   OFFICE  137 

supra-natural  gift  to  the  Church,  as  so  constituted  of 
God.  Adam's  fall  from  innocence  to  the  condition 
of  a  sinner,  although  it  banished  him  from  Eden 
and  from  that  near  and  personal  intercourse  with 
God  which  he  previously  enjoyed,  did  not  entirely 
shut  him  out,  or  his  posterity,  from  all  tokens  of 
God's  presence  with  him,  although  a  sinner.  God's 
expostulatory  language  to  Cain  when  his  offering 
was  not  accepted,  and  "his  countenance  fell"  is 
evidence  of  this.  "  Why  art  thou  angry,  and  why 
is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well  shalt 
thou  not  be  accepted  ?  "  After  his  awful  fratricide 
and  when  God  severely  sentenced  and  punished 
him,  Cain's  utterances  are  very  suggestive  in  regard 
to  this  matter.  In  regard  to  his  spiritual  state,  be- 
fore God,  there  is  ground  for  hope,  because  such 
punishment  was  severely  felt.  His  complaint  is 
not  that  his  punishment  was  not  deserved,  but, — it 
is  "  greater  than  I  can  bear  "  ;  and  it  includes  the 
thought,  "from  Thy  face  I  shall  be  hid."  We  can 
no  otherwise  conclude  than  that  it  means,  "  from 
the  manifestation  of  Thy  presence."  We  infer 
from  this,  that,  after  the  Fall,  such  manifestations 
of  God's  personal  presence  were  not  wanting, — al- 
though we  are  not  told  how. 

The  evidences,  so  given,  of  God's  wide  compas- 
sion, love  and  benevolence  to  mankind,  as  sinners, 
may  well  assure  us  of  His  special  presence  with,  and 
care  of  His  believing  and  obedient  people ;  and  of  a 
care  suited  to  their  spiritual  requirements  ;  and,  at 


138  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  same  time,  to  the  furtherance  of  His  own 
honor  and  glory  thereby,  and  for  the  good  of 
mankind  at  large. 

Turning  now  to  the  Sacred  Eecord  in  our  en- 
quiry, we  find  that  it  is  said  in  Gen.  5 :  24,  "  And 
Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  was  not,  for  God  took 
him."  St.  Jude  supplements  this  brief  statement 
by  telling  us  that  Enoch  prophesied,  and  he  tells  us 
the  matter  of  his  prophecy.  "  Behold  the  Lord 
cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  His  saints  to  execute 
judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince  all  that  are  un- 
godly among  them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which 
they  have  ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard 
speeches  which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against 
Him  "  (Jude  5 :  14,  15).  Similarly  we  are  told  of 
Noah  in  Gen.  6 :  8,  9,  that  he  was  "  a  just  man,  and 
perfect  in  his  generations,"  and  "  Noah  walked  with 
God."  St.  Peter  in  his  second  epistle  tells  us  that 
he  was  a  "  preacher  of  righteousness  "  (2  Pet.  2  :  5). 
Briefly  stated,  the  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  this  ; 
that  both  Enoch  and  Noah  were  endowed  with  the 
gift  of  prophecy,  and  that  they  were  prophets,  in 
the  comprehensive  sense  of  the  term  prophet,  i.  e.,  a 
Divine  messenger ;  and  as  such  term  includes  de- 
liverance of  a  Divine  prediction.  Although  these 
are  the  only  instances  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture, 
at  that  period  of  the  Church's  history,  it  may  not 
properly  be  concluded  that  they  are  the  only  in- 
stances actually  so  existent  of  the  exercise  of  Pro- 
phetic gifts ;  but  rather,  and   more  certainly,  that 


THE   PROPHETIC   OFFICE  139 

such  gifts  were,  also,  possessed  and  exercised  by 
others,  in  like  manner.  They  are  to  be  regarded  as 
instances,  merely.  Subsequent  to  the  flood,  and 
immediately  following  the  dispersion  of  Babel,  with 
the  call  of  Abraham,  we  enter  upon  a  period  of  the 
Church's  history  in  which  this  evidence  is  amplified. 
Abraham,  and  the  Patriarchs,  as  heirs  of  God's 
special  promises,  were  endowed  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy. 

It  is  expressly  recorded  of  Abraham  that  upon 
God  speaking  to  Abimelech,  King  of  Gerar,  con- 
cerning him,  He  said,  "  Now  therefore  restore  the 
man  his  wife,  for  he  is  a  Prophet,  and  shall  pray 
for  thee"  (Gen.  20:  7).  These  words  not  only 
plainly  declare  Abraham  to  be  a  Prophet,  and  en- 
dowed with  prophetic  gifts,  but  they  alsp  disclose 
to  us  the  fact  that  Abiemlech  himself,  and  his  co- 
temporaries  were  familiar  with  all  that  is  meant  by 
"  a  prophet  "  ;  also  that  Abimelech  and  his  servants 
had  a  knowledge  of  Jehovah  as  the  living  and  true 
God.  '  Also,  in  the  book  of  Job,  we  have  incidental 
testimony  to  the  same  effect,  when  Elihu  speaks  of 
"  a  messenger,  an  interpreter,  one  of  a  thousand  " 
(Job  33 :  23.) 

From  all  this,  I  say,  we  may  certainly  conclude 
that  the  fact  itself,  and  its  Divine  origin  and  char- 
acter was  not  only  known  to  the  patriarchs  and  the 
worshippers  of  Jehovah  in  very  early  times,  but 
that  it  was  not  unknown  to  the  nations  among 
whom  they  dwelt. 


140  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

God's  revelation  of  Himself  to  Abimelech,  and 
the  words  of  warning  just  quoted,  incidentally  dis- 
close to  us  much  intelligence  in  regard  to  the  pres- 
ence of  supra-natural  theistic  evidence  at  the  period 
of  time  we  are  now  considering,  and  under  the  the- 
istic economy  of  natural  law.  A  careful  considera- 
tion of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  will  make 
it  quite  evident  that  the  presence  and  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  by  no  means  an  unfamiliar  fact  to 
the  Church  of  that  day ;  and,  probably,  also  to 
those  outside  of  it ;  so,  also  (without  reference  now 
to  other  supra-natural  manifestations),  it  was  well 
understood  that  the  Prophet  was  bearer  of  a  mes- 
sage from  God,  and  that  he  spake  under  inspiration 
from  Him  and  acted  under  Divine  influences. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Jews  of  our 
Lord's  time  had  the  greatest  reverence  for  the  pro- 
phetic office.  This  was  not  confined  to  the  chief 
priests  and  rulers ;  it  was  a  deep  rooted  feeling 
among  the  people  generally.  So  much  so,  that  when 
the  rulers  contemplated  the  two  horns  of  the 
dilemma  which  the  question  of  our  Lord  gave  them 
to  choose  from  concerning  John  the  Baptist,  and 
his  mission,  they  concluded,  "  If  we  say  '  of  men,' 
all  the  people  will  stone  us,  for  they  be  persuaded 
of  John  that  he  was  a  prophet  indeed."  Hence 
they  conclude  to  say,  "  We  cannot  tell."  The  same 
difficulty  confronted  them  when  they  sought  to  lay 
hands  on  our  Blessed  Lord,  Himself  ;  "  They  feared 
the     multitude     because    they    took    Him    for    a 


THE   PROPHETIC   OFFICE  141 

Prophet."  So  also,  being  questioned  by  the  rulers 
as  to  what  he  thought  of  Jesus,  the  man  born  blind 
said  "  He  is  a  Prophet."  The  words,  too,  of  the 
woman  of  Samaria  disclose  the  same  fact  of  the 
high  estimation  held,  alike  by  the  Jews  and  the 
Samaritans,  concerning  the  Prophet  which  Moses, 
before  he  died,  prophesied  of,  that  the  Lord  should 
raise  up  after  him. 

The  question,  or  one  of  them,  put  by  the  mes- 
sengers sent  by  John  the  Baptist  to  our  Lord,  was 
"  Art  Thou  that  Prophet  ?  " 

All  these  utterances  cast  a  light  backward  upon 
the  times  anterior  to  Moses ;  and  the  words  of 
Jehovah  to  Abimelech  give  us  reason  to  conclude 
with  confidence,  that  even  then,  the  fact  was 
known,  and  the  character  recognized,  of  chosen  in- 
dividuals from  amongst  themselves,  who  were 
wrought  upon  by  a  Power  from  on  high  to  convey 
to  their  fellows  a  Divine  message  and  communica- 
tion, is  a  fact  beyond  reasonable  doubt. 

So,  again,  the  phraseology  used  by  Ehud,  when 
he  went  in  to  Eglon,  King  of  Moab  (Judges  3 :  19, 
20)  and  said,  "  I  have  a  secret  errand  to  thee,  O, 

King "     "And  Ehud   said,  I  have  a  message 

from  God  unto  thee.  And  he  arose  out  of  his  seat." 
He  did  so  in  token  of  reverence.  In  view  of  all 
these  facts,  I  regard  it  as  a  point  established,  that 
from  a  very  early  period;  and  certainly  from  the 
time  of  Noah,  and  subsequent  to  the  time  of  the 
flood,  the  element  of  prophecy,  and  the  office  of  the 


142  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

prophet,  as  a  man  called  of  God,  and  charged  with 
a  message  from  Him,  was  a  fact  in  evidence,  and 
acknowledged  as  such  by  Noah's  descendents :  spe- 
cially we  may  say  by  the  Shemites ;  but  also  by 
their  cotemporaries. 

By  purely  incidental  circumstances,  permeating 
Bible  history,  Ave  glean  valuable  information  con- 
cerning the  character  and  relation  of  Prophecy  to 
Biblical  Theism.  Some  of  these  circumstances  I 
will  now  notice.  It  is  a  truth  that  has  a  general 
application  to  God's  regenerate  people,  and  true 
worshippers,  that  "His  secret  is  with  the  right- 
eous " ;  that  He  manifests  Himself  to  them  as  He 
does  not  do  to  the  world  of  unbelievers.  But  this 
general  and  fundamental  truth  has  a  special  applica- 
tion to  God's  chosen,  and  official  witnesses ;  and 
the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  were  such  in  an 
eminent  degree.  We  find  constant  evidences  in 
Bible  history  of  a  special,  and  we  may  say,  a  con- 
fidential intercourse  between  Jehovah  and  His 
prophets.  In  the  account  given  of  the  visit  of  the 
angels  to  Abraham,  before  the  destruction  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  it  is  recorded  that,  "  The  Lord  said, 
shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  I  do,  see- 
ing that  Abraham  shall  surely  become  a  great 
and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him  ? "  (Gen.  18  :  17, 
18).  Abraham  had  already  been  declared  of  God 
to  be  a  Prophet,  and  I  think  that  the  forego- 
ing must  be  referred  to  that  fact.     Again,  we  find 


THE   PROPHETIC   OFFICE  143 

that  when  Saul  was  seeking  the  lost  asses  (1  Sam. 
9:15,  16)  it  is  said,  "Now  the  Lord  had  told 
Samuel,  in  his  ear,  a  clay  before  Saul  came,  saying, 
To-morrow  about  this  time  I  will  send  thee  a  man 
out  of  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and  thou  shalt  anoint 
him  to  be  captain  over  My  people  Israel."  Also, 
the  words  of  "  the  sons  of  the  prophets  "  both  at 
Bethel  (to  Elisha),  and  at  Jericho,  in  regard  to 
Elijah's  translation,  "  Knowest  thou  that  the  Lord 
will  take  away-  thy  master  from  thy  head  to-day  ?  " 
are  evidences  of  the  same  truth,  of  the  special  inti- 
macy which  the  grace  and  condescension  of  God, 
accorded  to  His  prophets  with  Himself.  The 
prophet  Elisha  said  to  his  servant  Gehazi,  in  regard 
to  the  Shunamite  woman  who  came  to  him  in  her 
distress,  "  Let  her  alone,  for  her  soul  is  vexed  within 
her,  and  the  Lord  hath  hid  it  from  me,  and  hath 
not  told  me  "  (2  Kings  4  :  27).  Several  other  in- 
stances might  be  mentioned  in  connection  with 
Elisha's  history.  The  prophet  Amos,  too,  inciden- 
tally gives  us  knowledge  of  the  same  fact  of  this 
special  relationship  of  which  I  have  spoken. 
"  Surely  the  Lord  God  will  do  nothing,  but  He 
revealeth  His  secret  to  His  servants,  the  prophets  " 
(Amos  3  :  7,  8).  Amos  here  speaks  of  it  as  an  axio- 
matic truth,  and  it  is  certainly  a  truth  that  pervades 
sacred  history. 

When  .God  so  punished  Dathan  and  Abiram  for 
their  rebellion,  as  recorded  (Numbers  16  :  28-30), 
we  can   but  infer  that  He  had  given  to  Moses  a 


144  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

secret  and  spiritual  cognizance  of  the  nature  and 
method  of  His  so  doing.  We  gather  from  the 
words  of  Moses,  that  he  knew  that  it  would  be  by 
an  earthquake.  Also,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  it 
was  by  a  Divinely  given  knowledge  that  Samuel 
told  Saul  of  what  should  occur  to  him  after  he  left 
him  ;  and  these  things,  so  taking  place,  were  to  be 
regarded  as  God-given  signs  both  of  God's  presence 
with  Saul,  as  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  the  seals 
to  him  of  Samuel's  prophetic  office  (1  Sam. 
10 :  1-10). 

I  wish  to  emphasize  the  truth  of  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  an  extraneous,  supernatural  and  Divine 
influence,  as  so  operative  and  giving  evidence  for 
God.  The  prophet  Amos  refers  to  this,  and  appeals 
to  the  moral  sense  of  the  Jews,  when  he  says  by 
the  Holy  Ghost,  "I  raised  up  of  your  sons  for 
prophets,  and  Nazarenes,  but  ye  said  to  the  proph- 
ets, Prophesy  not,  and  ye  gave  the  Nazarenes  wine 
to  drink"  (Amos  2:11,  12).  In  the  time  of 
Samuel,  and  under  his  direction,  the  prophetic 
office  was,  we  may  consider,  consolidated  as  an 
order,  and  so  established  ;  as  the  priestly  office  had 
already  been  so  established  by  Moses.  We  may 
infer  it  to  be  probable  that  the  schools  of  the 
prophets  there  spoken  of  (2  Kings  2 :  1-6)  had  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  teaching  element  in  the  pro- 
phetic office,  and  to  a  systematized  course  of  instruc- 
tion. The  incidental  mention  made  in  2  Kings 
2 :  3-8,  at  the  time  of  Eliiah's  translation  of  the 


THE   PROPHETIC   OFFICE  L45 

"  Sons  of  the  prophets,"  is  to  be  regarded  in  this 
connection  as  corroborating  the  fact  immediately 
noticed  in  regard  to  the  consolidation  of  the  element 
of  prophecy  as  related  to  Theism  ;  and  also  of  our 
previous  inferences  of  its  presence  and  progressive 
influence  as  a  witness  for  God.  The  instances  that 
I  have  cited,  cover  the  whole  ground  from  the  time 
of  Enoch  to  Moses  and  the  Exodus ;  the  period  I 
assume  to  have  been  characterized  by  government 
under  natural,  as  distinguished  from  supernatural 
law. 

The  subject  of  written,  or  inspired  prophecy, 
does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  our  present 
inquiry,  but  will  be  taken  up  hereafter.  Of  the 
prophets  charged  with  an  oral  message,  subsequent 
to  the  Exodus,  I  will  say  that  the  record  given  to  us 
of  such  in  Holy  Scripture  may  serve  to  shed  further 
light  on  the  period  anterior ;  and  that  their  history 
evidences  a  development  of  this  element  of  Theism. 

In  regard  to  the  title  of  the  office  itself,  Elisha  is 
called  both  a  "  prophet "  and  a  "  man  of  God  "  ;  so 
of  Samuel,  he  is  called  both  a  "  man  of  God,"  a 
"  prophet "  and  a  "seer."  I  have  before  considered 
that  the  office  of  the  prophet  was  latent,  or  in 
embryo  in  the  Church,  and  we  may  consider  that 
the  same  is  vocalized  in  the  title,  "  man  of  God,"  as 
it  expresses  the  fact  that  living  piety  was  at  least  a 
prerequisite,  if  not  a  qualification  for  the  office.  It 
is  the  assertion  of  a  Divine  principle  that  a  man  of 
God,  or   a   godly  man,  had   the   fundamental   re- 


146  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

quirement  in  this  God-given  characteristic,  for  a 
further  bestovvment  of  spiritual  gifts ;  but  it  does 
not  follow  that  such  were  possessed  by  each  and 
every  of  such  individual  members  of  the  living 
Church.  Believers  are,  themselves,  individually 
elected  from  the  unbelieving,  or  ungodly ;  and  the 
prophet  or  official  messenger  is  elect  out  of  the 
elect,  as  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor  says.  Here,  as  else- 
where, we  may  see  that  all  Theistic  truth  gravitates 
to  the  Divine  personality  ;  and,  in  the  bestowal  of 
spiritual  gifts,  "  He  divideth  to  all  men,  severally, 
as  He  will." 

So  also,  do  we  learn  from  the  Old  Testament  that 
the  prophet  had  an  individual  calling.  This  would 
appear  to  have  been  a  well-known  truth.  Of 
Samuel  it  is  said  that  "  all  Israel,  from  Dan  even 
to  Beersheba,  knew  that  Samuel  was  established  to 
be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord ;  for  the  Lord  revealed 
Himself  to  Samuel  in  Shiloh,  by  the  Word  of  the 
Lord"  (1  Sam.  3:  20,  21).  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  calling  of  Moses,  and  of  Elijah  and  Elisha. 
A  further  evidence  of  the  sovereignty  of  Gocl,  and 
of  the  principle  I  have  before  noticed  that  all  truth 
centres  in  His  personality,  is  the  fact  that  He  has 
chosen  women  to  this  sacred  office,  as  we  read  of 
Deborah  the  Prophetess,  the  wife  of  Lapidoth,  and 
also  of  Hulda  the  Prophetess,  in  the  time  of  Jere- 
miah. 

I  will  again  remark  that  the  elements  declarative 
of  Gocl  as  Creator,  Provider  and  Moral  Governor, 


THE  PROPHETIC  OFFICE  147 

are  cardinal  and  primary  elements  of  Theism,  and 
may  be  said  to  comprise  all  other ;  and  as  elements 
of  His  moral  government,  each  successive  element 
as  mediately  or  immediately  revealing  Him,  is  built 
upon,  incorporated  and  unified  with  them,  as  parts 
of  one  organic  whole,  ratifying,  confirming  and 
amplifying  the  initial  elements.  As  they  all  gravi- 
tate to  the  centre  of  God's  personality,  all  evidences 
are  unified  and  consolidated  in  the  inspired  word ; 
and  God's  revelation  of  His  personality  culminates 
in  the  revelation  of  His  Incarnate  Son.  "  The  only 
begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  the  Father, 
He  hath  declared  Him "  (John  1 :  18).  But,  in- 
dividually, we  know  God,  or  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  only  by  faith,  and  we  know  Him  so  far 
as  we  believe  upon  and  put  our  whole  trust  in 
Him. 

Our  Lord  has  coupled  the  knowledge  of  the 
Father,  Avith  the  knowledge  of  Himself. — These 
truths  are  best  seen  in  the  light  of  experimental  re- 
ligion.— It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  it  is  a  con- 
trolling desire  of  the  Christian  to  abide  in  Christ, 
to  know  more  of  Him,  to  love  Him  more,  to  be 
more  conformed  to  His  holy  example.  It  is  equally 
true  that  the  hymn  we  know  so  well,  expresses  a 
desire  no  less  necessary  to  the  Christian  heart, 
when  it  says,  "  Nearer  my  God,  to  Thee,  nearer  to 
Thee  "  ! 

This  is  the  absorbing  topic  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
and    the   dominant    desire    therein  expressed ;   and 


148  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

this  desire,  at  the  present  clay,  expresses  most  truly 
and  most  perfectly  the  hopes  and  fears,  the  joys  and 
sorrows,  desires  and  affections  of  godly  people ;  now, 
I  say,  as  well  as  in  the  ages  in  which  they  were  first 
written  and  recorded. 

Finally,  with  reference  to  the  terminative  object 
of  prophetic  gifts,  and  the  prophetic  office  under  the 
Old  Testament,  and  especially  under  natural  law. 
I  think  we  may  regard  it  as  the  assertion  of  the 
transcendence  of  God,  as  Moral  Governor,  as  He 
stands  related  (1)  to  the  just,  and  (2)  to  the  unjust. 
From  the  standpoint  of  the  written  and  recorded 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as  from 
what  is  recorded  of  the  oral  ministry  of  Enoch  and 
of  Noah,  if  regarded  solely  with  reference  to  the 
Old  Testament,  we  might  infer  that  the  office  had 
primary,  if  not  exclusive  reference  to  the  sinful  and 
unbelieving,  and  to  the  admonition  of  such  by  a 
declaration  of  God's  personality,  character  and 
supervision  of  the  affairs  of  men  ;  but,  we  may,  also, 
consider  that  such  a  ministry  would,  inherently  and 
necessarily,  have  an  immediate,  if  not  prior  refer- 
ence to  the  spiritual  wants  and  desires  of  His  loyal 
and  true  servants,  as  they  are  special  subjects  of 
His  paternal  care  as  ;'  seekers  of  the  Lord,"  and 
"  followers  after  righteousness  "  ;  and  also  in  view 
of  the  fact  that,  under  the  New  Testament  economy, 
it  is  expressly  stated  by  the  apostle  that  spiritual 
gifts,  generally,  including  the  gift  of  prophecy,  are 
especially  and  immediately  Divine  gifts  of  God  to 


THE  PROPHETIC   OFFICE  149 

His  Church,  and  for  its  spiritual  edification  ;  also 
that  all  offices  and  officers  of  the  Church  are,  in 
like  manner,  given  and  ordained  for  the  same  end 
(Eph.  4:  11,  12,  13). 


CHAPTER  VIII 


The  subject  of  dreams,  visions  and  revelations 
comes  next  in  order  of  consideration.  I  have  col- 
lated the  subject  of  prophecy,  with  that  of  the 
church,  by  reason  of  a  logical  relation  thereto. 
Our  present  subject  is  rather  related  to  that  of  God 
as  Creator,  and  to  His  general  oversight  and  super- 
intendence. As  before  remarked  of  supernatural 
communications,  in  general,  they  are  immediate,  or 
direct  revelations  of  the  character,  as  of  the  will  of 
God,  as  the  great  Supreme. 

It  is  not  irrelevant,  here,  to  refer  to  that  blissful 
period  when  our  first  parents  were  familiar  with 
"  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God,"  in  the  garden  of 
pleasure  and  delight,  in  the  pristine  days  of  inno- 
cence, when  the  tabernacle  of  God  may  be  said  to 
have  been  with  them.  At  that  time  there  was  in- 
deed a  change  of  relationship,  but  God  did  not 
entirely  withdraw  Himself.  He  still  held  fellow- 
ship open  to  those  who  would  draw  nigh  unto 
Him.  Provisionally,  He  continued  to  be  our 
Father  in  Heaven.  The  covenant  of  grace  was  an 
eternal  decree.  His  voice  to  Adam,  after  trans- 
gression, "  Adam,  where  art  thou  ?  "  declared  that, 

150 


DREAMS,   VISIONS  AND  REVELATIONS      151 

although  a  sinner,  he  was  neither  unknown,  un- 
loved nor  forsaken.  Even  the  solemn  words  ad- 
dressed to  Cain,  after  his  awful  fratricide,  are  most 
touching  and  sublime.  They  convey  to  the  godly 
man  of  this  day  a  tangible  and  perfect  assurance  of 
their  character  and  origin.  That  they  are  super- 
natural words,  his  whole  nature  instinctively  and 
intuitively  recognizes.  The  whole  scene  depicted  is 
a  word  painting  of  facts  which  his  own  personal 
knowledge  of  God  recognizes  as  such.  It  is  such  a 
knowledge  as  can  only  be,  but  most  certainly  is, 
super  naturally  given  to  man,  and  given  to  him 
now. 

The  communications  made  of  God  to  man,  in 
early  days,  are  variously  characterized.  They  are 
summarized  in  the  first  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  "  God,  who  at  sundry 
times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  to 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets " ;  but  this  does  not 
fully  describe  them.  Not  all  such  communications 
were  to  the  fathers.  They  were  not  confined  to 
good  men,  nor  to  the  patriarchs.  So,  also,  they 
were  various  in  character.  The  dreams  and  visions 
of  which  we  have  instances  (at  least  in  some  cases) 
were  not  of  that  gracious  character,  as  manifesta- 
tions, with  that  which  God  gave  of  Himself  to 
Moses.  The  twelfth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Num- 
bers is  an  eloquent  evidence  of  this  fact.  I  will 
but  quote  the  fifth  and  two  following  verses. 
"Hear    now    My    words;    if   there    be   a   prophet 


152  THEISM    UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

among  you,  I,  the  Lord,  will  make  Myself  known 
to  him  in  a  vision,  and  speak  to  him  in  a  dream ; 
My  servant  Moses  is  not  so,  who  is  faithful  in  all 
My  house.  With  him  I  will  speak  month  to 
month,  even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches, 
and  the  similitude  of  the  Lord  shall  he  behold ; 
wherefore  then  were  ye  not  afraid  to  speak  against 
My  servant  Moses  ?  " 

We  are  forbidden  to  believe  that  the  expression 
"  mouth  to  mouth  "  can  have  a  literal  signification 
or,  that  "the  similitude  of  the  Lord  "  can  be  simi- 
larly interpreted  ;  nor  when  we  are  told  that  God 
spake  to  Moses  "  face  to  face,  as  when  a  man  talk- 
eth  with  his  friend, "  that  this  can  be  other  than  an 
accommodated  expression.  It  is  not,  really,  an- 
thropomorphic, but  figurative  language.  We  learn, 
then,  that  it  was  of  a  more  gracious,  free  and  confi- 
dential character.  That  there  was  such  a  spiritual 
and  ineffable  sense  of  the  Divine  presence  and 
favor,  that  we  can  understand  of  in  no  other  way. 
So  of  St.  Paul's  vision,  when  he  was  "caught  up 
into  Paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words  which 
it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter."  Such  dis- 
tinctly and  peculiarly  supernatural  disclosures  can 
only  be  entertained  by  men  who  are  supernaturally 
and  divinely  taught  by  God's  Holy  Spirit.  They 
are  similar  in  kind,  though  not  in  degree,  to  what 
God  has  now  given  them  to  realize.  For  this 
reason,  no  doubt,  Peter  and  John  and  James,  who 
were  witnesses  of  our  Lord's  transfiguration,  were 


DREAMS,  VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      153 

charged  to  "tell  the  vision  to  no  man  until  after 
the  Son  of  Man  were  risen  from  the  dead.'-  The 
distinction  that  I  have  noticed  is  an  important  one, 
and  to  our  purpose  in  this  connection.  The  infer- 
ence, evidently,  is  this  ;  it  was  part  of  a  Divine 
plan  and  purpose,  in  regard  to  such  revelations, 
that  they  should  serve  as  corroborative  evidences 
to  men, — generally, — of  those  other  evidences  of 
God's  government,  character  and  personality  de- 
clared by  His  works  in  nature,  and  in  the  course  of 
His  providence  and  care,  as  Creator, — over  all  His 
creatures,  and  especially  over  man,  as  a  rational 
being,  and  as  the  subject  of  His  moral  government. 
The  evidences  of  God,  in  nature,  "  have  gone  forth 
into  all  lands,  and  His  words  to  the  end  of  the 
world  " ;  so  also,  of  these  immediate  and  supernat- 
ural messages,  they  were  to  declare  that  His  moral 
government  extended  over  them,  not  only  to  whom 
they  were  immediately  given,  but  to  mankind  at 
large  ;  that,  although  all  have  not  the  same  measure 
of  privileges  in  knowledge  of  His  truth,  nor  shared 
equally  in  His  favor,  or  had  the  same  measure  of 
accountability,  yet  that  He  was  "  nigh  to  all  who 
call  upon  him,  to  all  who  call  upon  Him  in  truth." 

In  this  connection  I  will  refer,  first,  to  the  re- 
markable passage  in  Gen.  20 :  3,  7  in  relation  to 
Abimeleeh,  King  of  Gerar.  "God  spake  unto 
him  in  a  dream  by  night."  We  clearly  see  that 
not  only  did  God  so  declare  Himself,  but  that 
Abimeleeh  knew  and   held  communion  with  God 


154:  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

who  spake  unto  him.  That  he  was  a  true  wor- 
shipper of  Him,  though  not  of  the  chosen  seed,  and 
that  God  so  regarded  him,  is  also  evident.1  Inci- 
dentally we  gather  that  God  gave  similar  evidence 
and  manifestation  of  Himself  to  others,  but  Abim- 
elech  was  one  of  those  who  sought  the  Lord  and 
was  found  of  Him.  The  case  of  Laban  the  Syrian 
is  patent  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  Lord  Jehovah 
was  knowable,  at  that  time,  to  the  true  seeker. 
Laban  recognizes  the  voice  and  character  of  God. 
He  came  to  Laban  as  to  Abimelech,  "in  a  dream, 
at  night."  The  dreams  of  Pharaoh,  of  the  chief 
butler,  and  the  chief  baker,  of  Joseph,  and  of  Neb- 
uchadnezzar and  Belshazzar,  were  communications 
to  persons  widely  different,  both  in  character  and 
position,  but  they,  alike,  disclose  corroborative 
testimony  to  a  supernatural  and  personal  First- 
Cause,  and  to  the  fact  of  His  universal  government 
and  superintendence,  in  the  affairs  of  men.  With 
reference  to  his  communications  to  Nebuchadnezzar 
and  Belshazzar,  the  lessons  accompanying  them 
serve  very  distinctly  to  enunciate  the  general 
principle  that  the  Lord  Jehovah  was  knowable  and 
near  to  those  sovereigns,  and  to  Gentile  nations,  as 
well  as  to  individual  men ;  that,  "  if  they  would 
seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  (not  only)  feel 
after  Him  (but)  find  Him,  as  "  He  is  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us,"  as  "  He  gives  us  life  and  breath 
and  all  things."  We  gather  from  Holy  Writ  that 
from  a  very  early  period,  God   has  used  dreams; 


DREAMS,  VISIONS  AND  REVELATIONS      155 

"the  visions  of  man's  head  upon  his  bed,"  as  an 
avenue  of  Divine  communication,  and  the  same 
element  is  maintained  in  New  Testament  history. 
Joseph,  the  husband  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  our 
Lord,  was  instructed  in  a  dream  to  flee  into  Egypt 
with  the  infant  Saviour,  and,  by  the  same  means, 
was  directed  to  return  from  thence.  "  Dreams  "  and 
"  Visions  "  are  sometimes  used  as  convertible  terms, 
in  Scripture  phraseology,  and  the  ground  of  this  I 
will  notice  hereafter.  Thus,  we  are  told  (Acts 
18 :  9)  "  Then  spake  the  Lord  to  Paul,  in  the  night, 
by  a  vision." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  these  two  forms  of 
Divine  communication,  like  other  elements  of  The- 
ism, have  been  incorporated  in  Holy  Scripture  as 
continuous  elements  of  Theistic  evidences,  and  as 
manifestations  of  His  presence,  and  personal  gov- 
ernment of  men,  and  of  human  affairs.  It  is  also 
important  to  notice  the  pervasive  and  permeative 
character  of  God's  presence  and  intercourse  with 
men  in  this  connection ;  and,  in  so  doing,  several 
subordinate  distinctions  are  to  be  kept  in  view. 
1.  It  is  necessary  to  separate  between  a  dream,  as 
it  is,  in  itself  considered,  simply  the  activity  of  the 
soul  during  sleep,  or,  a  certain  psychical  operation 
of  the  mind  which  is  the  outcome  of  personal  as- 
sociations, and  of  physical,  or  even  of  moral  law 
therein  operating ;  and,  as  it  may  be  accompanied 
by,  or  embodied  with,  an  immediate  act,  of  the 
Most  High,  whereby  a  Divine  communication  may 


156  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

be  made  to  the  soul,  under  such  conditions,  i.  e., 
during  sleep.  It  is,  therefore,  evident  that  the  nat- 
ural action  of  the  soul,  during  sleep,  and  the  natural 
causes  and  operations  of  dreams,  are  clearly  separa. 
ble  from  the  extraneous  operation  of  God,  as  Cre- 
ator, upon  the  soul,  and  from  the  communications 
resulting  from  that  act  and  operation.  Moreover, 
such  action  is  direct,  and  corroborative  evidence 
of  His  acts  and  operations  as  Creator  and  Pro- 
vider. 

2.  We  have  to  consider  the  expressed  purpose 
of  God  in  such  acts  and  operation,  (a)  It  is  to 
admonish  man,  to  instruct,  or  to  chasten  him.  So 
does  Elihu  declare  (Job  33  :  14-18).  So  God  ad- 
monished Laban,  the  Syrian,  "  See  thou  speak  not 
to  Jacob  either  good,  or  bad  "  (Gen.  30  :  24).  So, 
also  He  warned  Abimelech,  King  of  Gerar  (Gen. 
20  :  3),  "  Behold  thou  art  but  a  dead  man  for  the 
woman  that  thou  hast  taken,  for  she  is  a  man's 
wife."  (b)  Such  communications  were,  also,  ex- 
pressive of  peculiar  favor  to  the  individual  (Num- 
bers 12  :  6),  "  Hear  now,  my  words;  If  there  be  a 
prophet  among  you,  I,  the  Lord,  will  make  myself 
known  unto  him  in  a  vision,  or  speak  unto  him  in  a 
dream."  It  is  also  to  be  noticed  under  what  cir- 
cumstances of  peculiar  solemnity  this  fact  was  de- 
clared to  Aaron  and  Miriam,  as  given  in  verse  six, 
i.  e.,  The  Shekinah  as  declaring  the  Divine  presence, 
and  the  voice  of  God. 

3.  It  is  also  to  be  considered  that,  as  such  a 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      11 


>  I 


communication  was  an  immediate  and  personal 
revelation  of  God,  and,  so,  an  evidence  peculiar  to 
Theism,  corroborating  the  fact  of  the  Divine  ex- 
istence, and  the  claims  of  God,  as  Creator  and 
Governor,  as  also  declarative  of  His  will;  it  was  a 
distinct  assertion  of  His  sovereignty,  and  of  His 
absolute  freedom  as  moral  governor. 

4.  Further,  in  some  cases  they  were  designed  to 
declare  an  element  of  the  Divine  character,  and 
being,  dogmatically  taught  and  historically  re- 
corded as  an  essential  element  of  Theism,  viz.,  the 
Divine  inscrutability. 

(With  reference  to  this  subject,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary, here,  to  say  that,  as  a  Biblical  truth,  and  as 
an  element  of  Theism  maintained  through  all 
progressive  development  of  God's  counsel  and  will, 
such  inscrutability  is  relative,  and  not  absolute,  as 
declared  by  agnostics.) 

The  meaning  of  some  dreams  could  only  be  un- 
derstood by  men  who  were  specially  taught  of  God, 
as  well  as  specially  approved  of  Him.  So  Joseph 
declared,  "  Do  not  interpretations  belong  unto  God  ? 
Tell  me  them,  I  pray  you  "  (Gen.  40  :  8).  (Joseph 
was  herein  appealing,  not  only  to  the  knowledge, 
but  to  the  religious  consciousness  of  those  he  ad- 
dressed, hence  we  have,  herein,  a  just  and  an  im- 
portant inference  afforded  us.)  Let  us  notice  that 
this  element,  now  before  us,  is  incorporated  with 
the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  promise 
thereof,  in  the  last  days,  i.  <?.,  "  I  will   pour  out  of 


158  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

My  Spirit  upon  all  flesh.  Your  sons  and  your 
daughters  shall  prophesy;  your  young  men  shall 
see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams  " 
(Joel  2  :  28).  Daniel  also  declared  to  Nebuchadnez- 
zar that  he  himself,  had  no  personal  ability  to  declare 
the  king's  secret ;  so  also  Joseph  declared  to 
Pharaoh,  "  It  is  not  in  me,  God  shall  give  Pharaoh 
an  answer  of  peace  "  (Gen.  41 :  16).  We  are  told  in 
Daniel  1 :  17  that  it  was  on  account  of  their  piety, 
and  allegiance  to  Jehovah,  that  understanding  was 
given  to  Daniel  and  his  companions  at  the  court  of 
the  king  ;  "  And  Daniel  had  understanding  in  all 
visions  and  dreams."  The  importance  of  these 
facts,  as  substantiated  and  sealed  by  Holy  Writ, 
will  be  more  evident,  as  developed  in  the  course  of 
our  enquiry  herein.  There  is  one  more  fact  to  be 
noticed  in  regard  to  dreams.  It  is  concerning  the 
superstitious  use  made  of  them.  This  superstitious 
dependence  upon  dreams,  does  not  stand  connected 
with  God's  personality,  as  declared  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, nor  with  faith  in  other  elements  of  Theism  by 
which  God  declares  Himself.  This  superstitious  re- 
gard to  dreams  is  rebuked  of  God,  by  the  prophet 
Jeremiah,  when  he  says  (Jer.  23:  25-32)  of  false 
prophets  that,  "  They  think  to  cause  My  people  to 
forget  My  name,  by  their  dreams  which  they  tell 
every  man  to  his  neighbor,  as  their  fathers  have 
forgotten  my  name  for  Baal."  Also,  "  Behold  I  am 
against  them  that  prophesy  false  dreams,  and  I 
have  heard  what  the  prophets  said  that  prophesy 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND  REVELATIONS      159 

lies  in  my  name,  saying,  I  have  dreamed,  I  have 
dreamed  "  (Jer.  23 :  25,  26).  For  this  reason,  he 
says  "they  are  prophets  after  the  deceit  of  their 
own  heart,"  and,  "  the  prophet  that  hath  a 
dream,  let  him  tell  a  dream ;  but  he  that  hath 
My  Word,  let  him  speak  My  word  faithfully. 
What  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat,  saith  the  Lord " 
(Jer.  23 :  28). 

TJie  lesson  we  are  here  to  learn  from  this  is  that 
God's  Word  is  the  final  touchstone  of  truth,  by 
which  all  evidences  are  ultimately  to  be  tried ; 
moreover,  that  it  has  marvelous  power  and  efficacy. 
"  Is  not  My  word  like  a  fire,  saith  the  Lord  ?  and  as 
the  hammer  that  breaketh  the  rock  in  pieces?" 
Not  only  has  it  such  marvelous  and  supernatural 
power,  but  it  embodies,  as  it  consolidates  all  evi- 
dences. As  connected  with  such  consolidation,  I 
may  here  refer  to  the  dream  of  Pilate's  wife. 
"  Have  thou  nothing  to  do  with  that  just  man,  for  I 
have  suffered  many  things  this  day,  in  a  dream  be- 
cause of  Him"  (Matt.  27:19).  This  statement 
carries  with  it  evidences  of  a  Divine  purpose,  and  of 
a  Divine  communication. 

Another  class  of  Divine  communications  is  dis- 
tinctively termed  "  revelations."  And  here  we  may 
notice  a  further  subdivision.  Such  revelations  as  I 
here  refer  to,  are  to  be  distinguished  from  prophetic 
revelations,  and,  especially  from  such  as  were  to  be 
committed  to  writing  for  transmission  to  posterity 
as  a  written  and  inspired  record ;  they  were  of  a 


160  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

more  social  and  individual  character.  We  have  not 
so  full  an  account  of  God's  revelations  to  Noah,  as 
of  His  subsequent  revelations  to  the  patriarchs,  but, 
from  the  somewhat  different  circumstances  of  each, 
we  are  probably  correct  in  supposing  them  to  have 
been  of  the  same  character  as  those  given  to  Abra- 
ham, Isaac  and  Jacob.  At  different  epochs  of  their 
history,  we  read  that  "  The  Lord  spake  unto  them," 
or  that  He  "appeared  unto  them."  "The  Word  of 
the  Lord  "  seems  to  have  been  an  equivalent  expres- 
sion for  such  revelations,  or  manifestations.  We 
are  not  told  at  what  time,  whether  by  day  or  by 
night,  or  in  what  manner  the  Lord  spake  ;  we  are  sim- 
ply told  of  the  fact ;  but,  such  communications  were 
continuously  and  graciously  given  to  them  of  God. 
As  Jacob  spake  of  "  The  Lord  who  had  fed  him  all 
his  life  long,"  and  of  "  the  Angel  that  delivered  him 
out  of  all  his  tribulation"  (Gen.  48:  15,  16).  As 
they  walked  before  God  by  faith  and  prayer,  so 
God  gave  them  tangible  proofs  of  His  presence. 
The  Shekinah  was  to  the  journeying  Israelites,  as  a 
people,  what  such  revelations  were  to  the  individual 
saints  and  servants  of  God.  God's  revelation  of 
Himself  to  Gideon  and  to  the  Judges  was  of  a  sim- 
ilar character.  I  have  referred  to  God's  communi- 
cations with  Moses,  as  marking  peculiar,  personal 
and  official  privileges,  and  to  the  fact  that  "  the 
Word  of  the  Lord"  appears  to  be  an  expression 
tantamount  to  the  revelations  we  are  now  consider- 
ing.    A  further  distinction  to  that  before  noted  is 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      161 

to  be  traced  in  some  of  the  communications  made  to 
the  patriarchs,  and  identical  in  character  to  that 
peculiar,  personal  and  condescending  intercourse  with 
God,  enjoyed  by  Moses.  One  I  will  now  notice  is 
found  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  in  Gen.  17 :  1-3, 
where  it  is  said,  in  contradistinction  from  what  we 
read  in  Gen.  15 ;  (i.  e.,  The  Word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  Abraham)  that  "the  Lord  appeared  unto 
Abraham."  Moreover  it  is  said  in  verse  twenty- 
two  "  he  fell  on  his  face,  and  God  talked  with  him." 
So  in  like  manner  in  Gen.  35 :  9,  "  God  appeared  to 
Jacob,  again,  when  he  came  from  Padam-Aram,  and 
blessed  him."  He  had  appeared  to  him,  before, 
when  he  fled  there,  and  we  are  told  (Gen.  35 :  15) 
that  Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  where  God 
talked  with  him,  Bethel ;  and  in  verse  thirteen, 
"  God  went  up  from  him  in  the  place  where  He 
talked  with  him."  It  is,  here,  very  pertinent  to 
notice  that  in  the  thirty-fifth  chapter  of  Genesis, 
verse  one,  Jehovah  Himself  refers  to  that  time 
when  He  appeared  to  him,  when  He  said, 
"Arise,  go  up  to  Bethel  and  dwell  there,  and 
make  thee  an  altar  unto  God,  who  appeared  unto 
thee  when  thou  fleddest  from  the  face  of  Esau  thy 
brother." 

It  was  divinely  declared  to  Aaron  and  Miriam 
that  Moses  should  be  peculiarly  privileged  ;  and  it 
is  also  said  that  "  God  talked  with  Moses  as  a  man 
talketh  with  his  friend,"  and  we  read  in  Ex.  33 :  9, 
that  as  Moses  entered  the  tabernacle  "  the  cloud}^ 


162  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

pillar  descended  and  stood  at  the  door  of  the  tab- 
ernacle, and  the  Lord  talked  with  Moses."  Expres- 
sion is  elsewhere  given  to  the  same  fact  that  on 
many  occasions  the  Most  High  gave  him  similar 
distinguished  marks  of  His  peculiar  favor  and  con- 
fidence ;  and  such  manifestations  of  His  peculiar 
presence  and  nearness  as  it  was  possible  for  him 
to  enjoy.  Abraham's  favor,  as  the  "Friend  of 
God  "  was  scarcely  less  than  that  of  Moses.  This 
leads  me  to  refer  to  some  angelic  appearances  of  a 
special  character,  or  of  Jehovah  as  the  Angel  of 
the  Covenant.  I  refer  particularly  to  the  occasion 
when  Abraham  pleaded  with  God  for  Sodom.  The 
whole  narrative  is  expressive  of  sublime  condescen- 
sion and  grace  in  God's  attitude  towards  Him,  and 
presents  the  patriarch's  character  and  privileged 
position  with  singular  majesty  and  felicitude,  as  he 
pleaded  with  God  for  the  guilty  city.  As  has  been 
remarked,  "  God  only  ceased  to  give  when  Abra- 
ham ceased  to  pray."  The  scene  closes  with  the 
statement,  "  And  the  Lord  wTent  His  way  after  He 
had  left  communing  with  Abraham,  and  Abraham 
returned  to  his  place  "  (Gen.  18  :  33). 

Angelic  Messages  and  Messengers. 

Of  angelic  messages  and  messengers,  it  is  to  be 
noticed  that  they  form  an  element  of  Theism  of  a 
distinctive  character.  Like  that  of  other  elements 
spoken  of,  they  are  continuous  under,  and  they  con- 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      163 

nect  and  unify  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament 
dispensations. 

Some  instances  may  be  mentioned.  They  are 
given  as  instances,  only.  The  Israelites,  as  a  peo- 
ple, recognized  the  ministry  of  the  angels  as  a  min- 
istry peculiar  to  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  and  as  a 
Theistic  evidence.  Stephen,  the  first  Christian 
martyr,  charged  against  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  that 
they  had  "  received  the  law  through  the  disposition 
of  angels  and  had  not  kept  it "  (Acts  7  :  52,  53).  In 
similar  terms  it  is  spoken  of  in  the  first  chapter  of 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  As  individual  instances 
the  Angel  that  appeared  to  Moses,  to  Manoah,  and 
to  Daniel ;  to  Abraham,  to  Jacob,  to  Elijah  and  to 
Joshua,  are  instances  under  the  Old  Testament. 
Under  the  New  Testament,  the  angel  who  loosed 
Peter's  chains,  who  appeared  to  Paul,  and  the  angel 
Avho  was  sent  to  Elizabeth  and  to  the  Virgin  Mary ; 
also  the  angel  who  appeared,  several  times,  to 
Joseph,  her  husband.  The  angel  with  whom  Abra- 
ham pleaded  for  Sodom  was,  without  doubt,  the 
angel  Jehovah,  and  appears  to  have  been  so  recog- 
nized by  Abraham  himself.  It  is  perhaps  generally 
accepted  as  a  fact,  that  the  same  is  true  of  the  angel 
who  appeared  to  Joshua,  but  it  is  by  no  means  cer- 
tainly true. 

We  read  that  the  angel  who  spake  to  Elizabeth 
and  to  Mary  was  an  angel  of  very  high  order, 
whose  name   was  Gabriel,  and   who  (as   he   said) 


164  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

stood  "  in  the  presence  of  God."  J  The  inference  we 
may  draw  from  all  the  evidence,  under  the  Old  and 
under  the  New  Testaments,  is  that  the  ministry  of 
angels  in  the  affairs  of  men  both  has  been  and  is  of 
a  constant  and  very  pervasive  character.  We  are 
distinctly  told  that  "they  are  all  ministering  spirits 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation  "  (Heb.  1).  Also,  that  they  are  con- 
stant guardians  over,  as  well  as  ministers  to  the 
servants  of  God.  These  facts  have  a  most  impor- 
tant bearing  upon  the  subject  now  before  us. 
There  are,  yet,  two  Divine  manifestations  to  be 
considered  and  included  in  this  particular  class  of 
theistic  evidence.  They  are  unique  in  character 
and  they  convey  to  us  special  lessons.  I  refer  to 
the  revelations  of  God,  at  Mt.  Sinai  and  Mt.  Horeb, 
to  Moses  and  the  assembled  multitude,  and  to 
Elijah  personally  and  individually.  I  shall  simply 
notice  the  salient  features  of  each.  The  personal 
manifestations  vouchsafed  of  God  to  individuals 
have  been  of  a  privileged  and  confidential  char- 
acter, as  unto  those  whose  course  of  life  He  has  ap- 
proved of,  or  as  unto  those  whom  He  has  chosen  to 


1  "The  Angel  of  the  Lord"  (Ex.  33:  14).  Comparing  a  num- 
ber of  passages,  to  the  same  effect,  and  having  in  view  the  fact 
that  there  are  angels  spoken  of,  in  Holy  Scripture,  of  various  or- 
ders, and  degrees,  Dr.  Pusey,  in  his  commentary,  or  defense  of  the 
hook  of  Daniel  against  rationalists,  (pp.  520-21)  regards  it  as  at 
least  doubtful,  in  most  cases,  as  to  the  actual,  visible  presence  of 
one  of  the  Divine  persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 


DREAMS,  VISIONS  AND  REVELATIONS     165 

fulfil  His  pleasure,  and  to  be  the  bearers  of  His 
messages.  The  majority  of  the  disclosures  given 
to  us  in  Holy  Writ  are  of  this  character.  Those 
now  to  be  noticed,  but  especially  the  manifestation 
to  the  assembled  nation  at  Mt.  Sinai  were  of  a  dif- 
ferent character.  We  may  notice  in  all  the  mani- 
festations given  to  Israel,  as  a  people,  that  they 
were  progressive  in  character.  They  were  educa- 
tional and  disciplinary.  So  in  fact  God,  Himself, 
has  described  them.  He  says,  "I  bare  you  on 
eagle's  wings  to  lead  you  to  Myself."  Moses,  in 
his  song,  similarly  describes  God's  dealings  with 
them.  The  miracles  of  Egypt,  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
wilderness  were  so  characterized.  The  judgments 
upon  Egypt  and  upon  Pharaoh  were,  to  them,  les- 
sons upon  God's  character,  and  declarations  of  His 
personality.  All  this,  it  would  appear,  culminated 
at  the  time  and  upon  the  occasion  when  God  gave 
to  them  His  written  law.  It  is  probable  that  when 
the  decalogue  was  framed  and  solemnly  delivered, 
the  whole  of  the  books  of  Moses  was  at  least  in 
process  of  formation  ;  this  is  clearly  true  of  the  cere- 
monial law  ;  it  is  probably  true  that  the  historical 
records  of  Genesis  were  formulated  at  that  time,  and 
embodied  therewith.  The  miraculous  acts  and  in- 
terventions were  distinct  disclosures  of  His  glorious 
personality,  and  manifestations  of  His  character  by 
His  attributes  ;  not  one  of  them  only,  for,  although 
one,  or  more,  may  be  more  in  evidence,  one  cannot 
be  separated  from  the  other;  but  at  the  peculiarly 


166  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

solemn  time  and  occasion  when  the  Israelites  were 
organized  of  God,  as  a  nation  and  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple, the  display  of  God's  character  and  glory  at 
that  time  was  to  be  coupled  with  a  solemn,  explicit 
and  recorded  expression  of  His  most  sacred  Will. 
Not  of  His  Will,  alone,  but  of  His  most  holy  and 
righteous  Will.  It  was  the  declaration  of  that 
Will,  not  only  as  connected  with  the  concurrent,  or 
simultaneous  manifestation  of  His  Almighty  power 
and  holiness  upon  that  occasion ;  but,  as  connected 
with  all  their  past  experience  of  His  truth,  His 
power  and  His  love.  All  these  facts  are  made  use 
of  by  Moses,  at  various  times,  as  mementoes,  and 
as  a  stimulus  to  duty.  They  are  recalled  and  re- 
capitulated, at  length  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy, 
and  epitomized  in  that  song  that  Moses  was  di- 
rected of  God  to  teach  them.  If  Mt.  Sinai  and  the 
giving  of  the  law  can  be  connected  with  one  specific 
purpose  of  God, — only,  then  we  must  say  that  it 
was  a  purpose  to  impress  them  most  solemnly  with 
the  fact  that  Jehovah  is  a  holy  God,  "  Glorious  in 
holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders."  His 
words  to  Moses  when  He  made  all  His  glory  to 
pass  before  him  are  the  most  perfect  declaration  of 
the  harmony  of  His  attributes,  and  that  in  Him,  as 
in  His  Incarnate  Son,  "  Merc}^  and  truth  have  met 
together  ;  righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each 
other." 

I  have  now  a  few  words  to  say  upon  the  mani- 
festation at  Horeb.     This  manifestation,  although 


DREAMS,  VISIONS  AND  REVELATIONS      167 

given  to  the  prophet  Elijah  personally,  may  be  said 
to  have  a  general  lesson  for  the  church,  collectively. 
Like  that  at  Mt.  Sinai,  it  is  a  distinct  disclosure  of 
God's  glorious  personality.  The  prophet  was  di- 
vinely  and  miraculously  led  there  to  behold  it,  and 
that  the  lesson  might  be  conveyed  to  us.  The  oc- 
casion serves  to  further  harmonize  and  unify  the 
two  manifestations  of  God.  If  God's  voice,  on 
Sinai,  was  "as  the  voice  of  thunder,  exceeding  loud, 
the  voice  at  Horeb  was  that  of  a  "still  small  voice." 
It  followed  the  wind,  the  earthquake,  and  the  fire 
(1  Kings  19:11,12).  It  was  the  same  God  who 
spake  at  Sinai  and  at  Horeb.  It  tells  us  that, 
although  God's  "  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  His  path  in 
the  great  waters,  and  His  footsteps  are  not  known," 
— yet — "  He  led  His  people  like  sheep,  by  the  hand 
of  Moses  and  Aaron  "  ;  and  so,  as  David  says,  by 
"pondering  these  things,  we  shall  understand  the 
loving  kindness  of  the  Lord  "  (Ps.  107 :  43). 

As  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  elements  of 
theism  are  cumulative  and  culminatory,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  theory  of  evolution,  it  is  in  point 
to  mention  some  instances  of  visions,  and  revela- 
tions recorded  in  the  New  Testament. 

First,  of  the  vision  vouchsafed  to  St.  Paul.  His 
extraordinary  conversion  to  the  Christian  faith  was 
associated  with  a  vision  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  spake  to  him  and  called  him,  both  to  His  dis- 
cipleship,  and  to  the  office  of  an  apostle  and  official 
witness  for  Him  (Acts  9:  3-7).     After  his  conver- 


168  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

sion,  he  himself  tells  us  of  certain  "  visions  and  rev- 
elations of  the  Lord  "  in  which  he  was  "  caught  up 
into  Paradise."  More  than  one  instance  of  God 
speaking  to  him,  subsequently,  "  in  a  vision "  is 
recorded  in  the  record  of  his  apostolic  journey- 
ings  in  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
When  God  sent  Peter  to  Cornelius,  He  spake 
unto  Cornelius  by  a  vision  (Acts  10 :  1-8) ;  and 
to  prepare  Peter  to  go  to  Cornelius  and  for  the 
messengers  sent  by  him,  God  spake  to  Peter  by  a 
vision  (Acts  10 :  9-17).  When  the  Lord  sent  Ana- 
nias to  Saul,  He  spake  to  him  by  a  vision  (Acts 
9  :  10-16).  It  is  specially  worthy  of  notice,  and  is 
strong  evidence  of  the  cumulative  character  of 
theistic  evidences,  and  of  this  one  in  particular,  that 
it  is  given  to  us  on  the  solemn  occasion  of  the 
Transfiguration  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  on  the  holy 
mount,  where  Elijah  and  Moses  "  talked  with  Him 
of  His  decease  which  He  should  accomplish  at  Jeru- 
salem." Our  Lord  speaks  of  it  as  a  vision.  "  Tell 
the  vision  to  no  man  until  the  Son  of  Man  is  risen 
from  the  dead  "  (Matt.  17  :  9).  For  sufficient  rea- 
sons it  was  given,  and,  we  may  infer  for  the  purpose 
of  evidencing  in  a  special  manner  His  Divine  per- 
sonality ;  and  these  disciples  were  the  chosen  and 
honored  witnesses  of  it,  who,  as  the  most  zealous, 
were  nearest  to  Him.  Also,  the  final  revelation 
given  to  the  church,  and  that  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  its  risen  Head,  was  given  to  the  beloved 
disciple  St.  John,  by  a  vision.     These  instances  are 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      169 

fully  sufficient  in  corroboration  of  the  evidence 
already  given,  and  go  to  shew  that  the  elements  of 
theism,  severally  and  collectively,  are  not  transient 
in  character,  but  permanent  and  abiding ;  and  as 
each  of  those  elements  are  continuous  and  parts 
of  a  whole,  so  of  the  doctrines  given  to  us  in 
Holy  Scripture  from  the  beginning ;  they  are  a 
progressive  and  a  culminatory  revelation  of 
God  the  Father,  God  the  Son  and  God  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

In  regard  to  the  particular  subject  we  are  now 
considering,  I  would  remark  that,  in  common  with 
other  elements  of  Theism,  it  is  of  a  corroborative 
character,  as  related  to  the  primary,  and  what  we 
may  consider  fundamental  elements  of  Natural 
Theology  and  Natural  Religion.  These,  in  them- 
selves considered,  from  their  necessary  and  intrinsic 
character,  are,  severally,  witnesses  for  God  as  Crea- 
tor and  Moral  Governor;  and  to  these  two  great 
foundation  truths,  all  other  theistic  evidences  may 
be  said  to  be  tributary.  By  a  moral  and  a  neces- 
sary sequence  they  proceed  therefrom,  as  from  an 
efficient  cause,  and,  as  they  do  so,  they  give  testi- 
mony by  their  homogeneity,  of  their  source  and 
original.  Severally  and  collectively,  they  bear  wit- 
ness for  God,  as  Creator  and  Moral  Governor.  The 
primary  elements  are  fortified  and  consolidated  by 
the  supernatural  disclosures,  mediate  and  immedi- 
ate, of  God's  personality,  as  the  Supreme  Good,  and 
as  the  Supreme  Governor  of  men. 


170  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Moreover,  these  various  theistic  evidences  have 
not  been  confined  exclusively  to  one  part  of  the 
human  family ;  although  afterwards,  one  individual, 
and  one  family  was  chosen  of  God  for  the  purpose, 
not  only  of  conserving  such  evidences,  but,  also,  of 
consolidating  them  ;  as  well  as  for  that  of  develop- 
ing and  perfecting  them  by  cumulative  testimony 
of  His  Inspired  Word,  and  by  His  Incarnate  Son. 
Of  the  Abrahamic  covenant,  and  patriarchal  age,  I 
shall  speak  more  fully  in  connection  with  the  Mosaic 
economy.  It  will  be  sufficient,  now,  to  recapitulate 
the  corroborative  and  supernatural  evidence  before 
referred  to. 

(1)  The  church  of  God,  as  an  elect  company  of 
believing  men,  subjects  of  moral  elimination  and  of 
the  electing  love  of  God,  and  fitting  and  necessary 
witnesses  for  theism,  as  an  objective  fact.  (2)  Col- 
lated therewith  and  morally  related  thereto,  are  the 
unwritten  and  vocal  traditions  consequent  from  the 
church,  as  a  company  of  believing  men,  and  neces- 
sarily making  confession  of  their  faith ;  and  (3)  in 
immediate  connection  with  the  fact  and  beino*  of 
the  church,  the  constitution  of  prophecy,  and  the 
prophetic  office,  as  related  to  the  church,  and  to 
mankind  ;  and  (4)  those  immediate  and  direct  super- 
natural communications  which  the  all-glorious  God 
has  vouchsafed,  in  various  ways,  to  make  of  Him- 
self, in  various  degrees  of  favor  and  of  privilege,  to 
individuals,  in  various  relations,  personal  and  official ; 
and  also  by  them  to  particular  persons  or  nations. 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS      171 

Before  leaving  this  topic,  I  will  now  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  sophistical  and  misleading  character  of 
the  teaching  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  as  related  to  Theistic 
evidences,  generally.  The  whole  volume  ignores 
the  objective  evidences  for  God  in  nature,  and  also 
the  supernatural  evidences  herein  spoken  of.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  general  evidence  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  is  belittled  and  special  capital 
made  of  the  Incarnation  in  favor  of  the  hypothesis 
of  evolution.  The  term  "  religion  "  is  used  in  an 
abstract  signification,  and  from  the  standpoint  of 
heathen  corruptions  of  theistic  truth,  and  from  that 
of  their  superstitions.  Moreover,  the  polytheism 
and  various  religious  systems  of  the  world  generally 
are  regarded  as  homogeneous  in  character  with 
theism  and  the  Old  Testament  scriptures  and 
Mosaic  Law,  as  constituted  and  ordained  by  Jeho- 
vah. 

In  general,  the  idea  is  conveyed  that  there  was 
little  clear  knowledge  of  God  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment dispensation,  and  as  represented,  either  by 
the  Ante,  or  post-diluvial  periods,  or  by  the  Mosaic 
economy  ;  and  no  certain  or  definite  knowledge  of 
Him  in  the  early  history  of  the  world ;  indeed  by 
implication,  as  well  as  by  direct  statement,  the 
early  Bible  history  is  regarded  as  mythical,  and  not 
historical  in  character,  and  it  is  held,  in  the  same 
way,  that  Monotheism  was  "evolved"  from  Poly- 
theism. Upon  this  assumption,  and  upon  these 
premises, — assumed  to  be  true,— and  that  the  knowl- 


172  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

edge  of  the  living  and  true  God  was  productive  of 
a  religion  similar  in  kind  to  that  of  heathendom, 
we  are  told  that  it  is  necessary  for  morality  to  cor- 
rect and  to  purify  religion,  in  general  ;  including 
Theistic  and  Biblical  religion  as  represented  by  the 
Old  Testament  scriptures  particularly  ;  and  that  it 
is  by  scientific  and  philosophical  knowledge,  or  by 
what  claims  to  be  such,  i.  e.,  by  evolution  as  a 
universal  force,  that  such  purification  is  to  be  ef- 
fected ;  effected  moreover  by  evolution  as  a  Divine 
Law  and  appointment.  Thus  evolution  is  grafted 
upon  Christianity,  for  we  are  told  that  under  the 
New  Testament,  by  the  incarnation  of  our  Blessed 
Lord,  as  an  especial  evolution  of  Theism,  sub- 
jectively considered  a  revised  and  a  more  correct 
idea  is  given  to  us  of  the  nature  of  God  than  that 
given  in  the  Old  Testament ;  rather, — it  is  a  revela- 
tion by  contrast. 

As  I  have  before  said,  the  objective  evidence 
afforded  us  in  nature  is  ignored,  as  is  also  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  the  argument  is 
subjective  and  abstract  in  character ;  it  is  also 
metaphysical  and  introspective.  Its  broadly  ration- 
alistic character  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it 
makes  morality  more  efficient  than  subjective 
theism,  and  philosophy,  objectively  considered, 
more  effectual  than  Holy  Scripture;  and, — yet 
more  positively, — by  the  absolute  attack  that  is 
made  upon  supernatural  religion,  in  that  the  trans- 
cendent and  Divine  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 


DREAMS,   VISIONS   AND   REVELATIONS     173 

the  mind  of  the  authors  of  the  several  books  of  the 
sacred  scriptures  is  classed  with  merely  natural, 
although  special  gifts  ;  and  with  the  attainments  of 
specialists  in  natural  arts  and  sciences. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MIRACLES 

A  miracle  may  be  defined  as  an  extraordinary 
occurrence,  i.  e.,  something  unusual  and  aside  from 
the  settled  order  of  things.  The  Divine  acts  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  spoken  of  in  Holy  Scripture 
as  "  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs."  The  terms, 
each  and  all,  may  be  resolved  into  reference  and 
relationship  to  God's  personality  ;  the  term  "  sign  " 
having  reference  to  an  indication  of  the  presence 
and  action  of  Deity.  And,  as  the  words,  severally 
considered,  have  reference  to  God's  personality,  so 
also  do  they  include  reference  to  Law,  and  to  a 
Law-Giver.  An  extraordinary  occurrence  in  the 
physical  world  must  include  the  acknowledgment 
of  an  order  that  obtains,  as  a  settled  economy  of 
the  universe,  of  which  order  the  special  occurrence 
is  aside  from,  though  not  necessarily  contrary 
thereto.  The  unusual  occurrence  may  be  marvel- 
ous to  us,  by  reason  of  our  limited  knowledge  of 
the  laws  that  govern  the  physical  universe,  and  of 
their  correlations  to  each  other.  We  have  knowl- 
edge of  the  fact  that  several  of  these  laws  have  an 
obscure  relation  to  each  other  which  we  are  not 
able  to  analyze,  and  that  slight  modifications,  of 

174 


MIRACLES  175 

which,  from  their  plastic  nature,  they  are  suscepti- 
ble, materially  alter  their  operation  and  results. 
The  fact,  therefore,  of  the  existence  and  operation 
of  such  extraordinary  events  hinge  upon  the  ex- 
istence of  a  Supreme  First-Cause  and  Personality, 
and,  further,  upon  the  exercise  of  His  good  will  and 
pleasure.  The  human  will  is  the  dominant  and 
controlling  faculty  of  man's  moral  nature.  It  is 
the  ultimate  and  the  directing  force  which  governs, 
moulds  and  subordinates  all  his  other  faculties, — 
physical  and  moral.  It  may  be  put  in  operation 
by  passion,  or  by  defective  knowledge,  and  its  re- 
sults will  be  governed  and  characterized  accord- 
ingly. 

The  will  of  an  All-Perfect  Personality  is  a  perfect 
will,  incapable  of  an  error  by  defective  knowledge, 
or  wrong  motive  power.  God's  will,  while  from  its 
nature  and  operations  it  will  glorify  His  own  char-" 
acter,  is  never  exercised  apart  from  most  perfect 
ends  in  regard  to  mankind.  This  truth  applies  to 
the  matter  before  us,  i.  <?.,  the  highest  exercise  of 
His  supreme  perfections  and  personality  by  miracu- 
lous acts.  It  will  be,  here,  useful  and  sufficient  to 
notice  the  fact  of  the  important  relation  this  truth 
bears  to  all  doctrinal  religion,  and  also  its  supreme 
consequence  to  the  soul  of  the  individual  believer 
upon  one  living  and  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
whom  He  has  sent. 

It   will   thus   appear   from   these   premises   that 
miracles    may   (1)    be   compatible    with   a   settled 


176  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

econom}r  of  physical  order  in  the  universe,  and  also 
(2)  that  they  are  highly  consistent  with  the  fact 
of  a  personal  Creator  of  the  world  and  of  a  perfect 
Personality ;  and  as  the  expression  of  a  perfect 
will. 

But  we  may  go  further.  Reverently  reasoning 
from  the  less  to  the  greater,  and  from  what  is  the 
highest  knowledge  open  to  us,  viz.,  our  own  person- 
ality as  finite  moral  agents,  created,  as  we  are 
apprised  by  God  Himself,  in  His  image  and  like- 
ness,— we  may  even  say,  upon  this  basis,  that 
miracles,  as  expressing  the  actions  of  the  Divine 
Purpose  and  Will, — as  Supreme  and  representing  a 
Perfect  Being,  not  alone,  as  Creator,  but  as  Moral 
Governor  of  men,  and  as,  so,  related  to  a  world  that 
has  rebelled  against  Him ;  in  the  assertion  of  His 
personality  and  of  His  relation  to  them  by  rightful 
and  just  authority,  for  the  maintenance  of  His  own 
glory,  as  for  the  necessary  good  of  His  creatures ; 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  a  perfect  will ;  His 
extraordinary  and  immediate  interposition  by  mir- 
acles in  His  oversight  and  government  of  the 
world  would  seem  to  be  even  necessary  as  well  as 
desirable. 

With  these  preparatory  remarks,  I  proceed  to  con- 
sider the  subject  of  miracles  as  an  element  of 
Theism,  and  as  related  to  Old  Testament  history. 

Miracles  may  thus  be  regarded  as  immediate 
manifestations  of  the  sovereignty  of  God,  as  Cre- 
ator and  Governor.     We  may  say,  also,  that  they 


MIRACLES  177 

are  the  highest  exhibition  of  the  Divine  super- 
natural. They  are  peculiar  to  Monotheism,  as 
final  evidences  of  the  supremacy  and  perfections 
of  Jehovah. 

The  great  miracle  of  the  Old  Testament,  anterior 
to  Inspiration,  was  the  flood.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  visitation  of  God  upon  human  sin,  while  assert- 
ing His  perfections  and  personality,  was  directed 
particularly  to  sin  against  Him,  as  Creator,  and  so 
also  as  Benefactor  (Gen.  6  :  7). 

The  primary  proofs  of  the  Divine  existence  and 
character  are  drawn  from  creation  and  providence. 
"  He  did  good,  and  sent  us  rain  from  heaven,  and 
fruitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness  "  (Acts  14  :  15-17). 

It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  when  God  had 
established  the  Jews  in  Canaan,  He  instituted  and 
ordained  a  solemn  feast,  the  Feast  of  the  First- 
Fruits,  in  recognition  of  the  fundamental  truth  of 
Theism,  that  He  is  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  and  that 
He  is  to  be  solemnly  acknowledged  as  such. 

This  primary  claim  which  God  has  made  upon 
men,  as  their  Creator  and  Benefactor,  is  never 
abrogated,  nor  is  it  merged  in,  or  superseded  by 
progressive  disclosures  of  Him,  as  Kedeemer.  His 
attributes,  as  God,  and  His  claims  as  Creator  and 
First-Cause,  are  nowhere  more  fully  declared  than 
by  the  evangelical  prophet  Isaiah,  "  Yea,  before  the 
day  was  I  am  He,  and  there  is  none  that  can  deliver 
out  of  My  hand ;  I  will  work  and  who  shall  let  it  ?  " 


178  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

(Is.  43 :  10-14).  So  Moses  in  his  song  says,  "  Do 
ye  thus  requite  the  Lord,  O  foolish  people,  and  un- 
wise ?  Is  not  He  thy  Father  that  hath  bought 
thee  ?  Hath  He  not  made  thee  and  established 
thee  ?  "  (Deut.  32  :  6).  Again,  "  Then  he  forsook 
the  Lord  that  made  him,  and  lightly  esteemed  the 
Rock  of  his  Salvation.  They  provoked  Him  to 
jealous}'  with  strange  gods ;  with  abominations 
provoked  they  Him  to  anger ;  they  sacrificed  to 
devils  and  not  to  God  ;  to  gods  whom  they  knew 
not,  to  new  gods  that  came  newly  up,  whom  your 
fathers  feared  not.  Of  the  Eock  that  begat 
thee,  thou  art  unmindful  and  has  forgotten  God 
that  formed  thee"  (Deut.  32:  15-18).  It  was 
this  sin  against  God,  as  Creator  and  Benefactor, 
that  provoked  the  flood.  The  aggravation  of 
polytheistic  idolatry  was  the  fact  that  God,  as 
known, — known  as  to  His  personality  and  character 
from  the  earliest  ages, — was  forgotten  and  rejected. 
So  God  says,  "  I  will  destroy  man,  whom  I  have 
created,  from  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  for  it  repenteth 
Me  that  I  have  made  them  "  (Gen.  6  :  7).  From 
the  standpoint  of  all  facts  relevant  to  the  subject, 
man's  sin  against  God  was  against  adequate  and 
sufficient  evidence, — the  evidences  of  His  works,  as 
Creator,  and  of  His  fatherly  care  over  man,  as  Lord 
over  creation  by  His  ontological  qualities,  and  by 
God's  gift  and  appointment. 

Noah's    preaching   to    the   antediluvians   is   sug- 
gestive of  important  and  elementary  considerations. 


MIRACLES  179 

It  was  prophetic,  as  it  declared  a  purpose  of  the 
Most  High.  It  was,  also,  a  direct  assertion  of  His 
existence  and  personality  as  known,  and  of  His 
supremacy.  It  is  specially  important,  in  this  con- 
nection. It  is  one  of  the  many  facts  against  evo- 
lution. Noah's  preaching  was  of  righteousness. 
Here,  too,  is  an  appeal  to  the  "  First  Law  Eternal," 
as  it  refers  to  the  Author  and  Giver  of  law  to  man ; 
and  to  the  "  Second  Law  Eternal,-'  as  it  appeals  to 
that  law  of  man's  nature,  given  to  him  by  his 
Creator,  as  the  rule  of  his  life ;  the  law  of  knowl- 
edge, and  the  power  to  discriminate  between  right 
and  wrong.  The  flood  was  a  reassertion  of  God's 
claims  as  Creator.  Only  He  who  first  created  the 
earth,  by  the  fiat  of  His  will,  and  who,  afterwards, 
"  made  it "  or  fitted  it  up  "  to  be  inhabited " 
(Is.  45  :  18)  could  destroy  it,  or  reduce  it  to  chaos. 
The  execution  of  this  purpose  was  God's  retributive 
judgment  upon  man,  as  transgressor  against  Him  as 
Creator,  and  against  the  law  of  His  own  being,  by 
unbelief  and  disobedience. 

The  evidence  in  support  of  the  fact  itself,  as  given 
in  sacred  history  is  fortified  by  collateral  witness. 
In  the  traditions  of  various  ancient  nations  are 
transmitted  legends  of  the  Creation,  Fall  of  Man, 
the  Flood  and  other  prominent  events  of  Bible 
story.  Also,  in  our  own  day,  geologists,  generally, 
are  agreed  that  a  temporary  elevation  ancT  subsi- 
dence of  the  crust  of  the  earth,  corresponding  to 
that  of  the  flood,  of  sacred  history,  took  place  about 


180  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

that  time,  and  that  such  was  not  local,  but  general, 
in  extent.  The  flood,  as  a  retributive  visitation, 
was  designed  of  God  to  be  a  monument  to  Himself, 
as  Creator,  and  as  a  warning  to  sinners  in  subse- 
quent ages  of  the  world's  history,  specially  to  high- 
handed transgressors ;  and  to  such,  declaration  of 
the  fact  of  a  future,  final  and  universal  judgment 
(2  Pet.  2  :  5,  6,  Y).  We  may  consider  that,  in  the 
flood  of  sacred  history,  the  theistic  evidences,  or 
elements  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  were  fully  de- 
clared and  manifested.  Subsequent  history  did  but 
consolidate  and  develop  them.  This  judgment  of 
God  upon  antediluvians,  nevertheless,  well  known 
as  it  must  have  been  to  the  descendents  of  Noah, 
did  not  restrain  them  from  sin  ;  rather,  we  may  say, 
that  such  did  but  stimulate  the  unbelieving  and  un- 
godly to  more  ungodliness.  Such  we  infer  from 
the  action  of  the  Israelites  and  from  our  own 
knowledge  and  experience  of  sin,  as  a  law.  In- 
creasing iniquity  called  for  another  judgment.  The 
cities  of  the  plain  exceeded  in  wickedness  their 
cotemporaries ;  although  among  the  nations  of 
Canaan,  polytheistic  abominations  were  working 
the  overthrow  that,  subsequently,  overtook  them. 

In  these  two  judgments  the  direct  and  immediate 
hand  of  God  was  manifested  ;  and  they  carry  with 
them  the  fullest  evidence  for  Him,  in  all  the  glory 
of  His  perfections,  and  also  for  all  the  elements  of 
His  moral  government. 

The  terms  "  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs  "  do 


MIRACLES  181 

not  appear  to  be  strictly  synonymous,  although 
sometimes  used  as  convertible  terms.  In  general, 
we  may  conclude  that  a  miraculous  act  was  a 
"  sign  "  that  God  was  present  with  the  person  per- 
forming it.  So  did  Nicodemus  express  a  generally 
accepted  truth.  "We  know  Thou  art  a  Teacher 
come  from  God,  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest  expect  God  be  with  him "  (John 
3 :  2).  So,  also  the  words  of  the  man  born  blind 
were  the  same  effect.  "  If  this  man  were  not  of 
God,  he  could  not  do  nothing  "  (John  9  :  33).  From 
these  passages  and  others  of  the  same  import,  we 
gather  that  they  were  generally  regarded  as  pecul- 
iar to  theism,  i.  <?.,  to  Monotheism,  and,  moreover, 
that  while,  as  proof,  they  were  conclusive  and  in- 
disputable, so  also  that  they  were,  as  such  proof, 
indispensably  necessary.  Such  a  requirement,  by 
the  elders  of  Israel,  appears  to  have  been  antici- 
pated, and,  so,  provided  for  by  God  Himself,  when 
He  sent  Moses,  as  His  messenger  (Exodus  4: 
29-31).  So  also,  in  regard  to  Pharaoh  (Exodus  7  : 
8,  9).  So,  we  may  notice  that  when  Moses,  as 
commanded  by  God,  had  performed  the  miracles 
He  had  appointed  him  to  do,  in  presence  of  the 
elders  and  of  the  people,  "the  people  believed, 
and  when  they  heard  that  the  Lord  had  visited 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  that  He  had  looked 
upon  their  affliction,  then  they  bowed  their 
heads  and  worshipped  "  (Ex.  4  :  30,  31).  Similarly 
in  the  course  of  Holy  Scripture,  disobedience  to  the 


182  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

evidence  given  by  miracles,  and  ingratitude  for 
marvelous,  personal  and  extraordinary  interposi- 
tions from  the  hand  of  God  is  regarded  as  express- 
ive of  obduracy  in  sin,  and  peculiar  aggravation  of 
God's  goodness.  This  applies  to  the  sins  of  the 
people  under  the  leadership  of  Moses  and  Joshua, 
and  also  to  that  of  the  Jews  who  rejected  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  A  due  consideration  of  these  facts 
suggests  a  twofold  lesson.  The  evidence  supplied 
by  authenticated  miracles  entailed  accumulated  re- 
sponsibility, by  the  mere  fact  of  their  presentation ; 
while  the  facts  of  history  and  of  experience  go  to 
assure  us  that  no  amount  of  evidence,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, could  necessitate  obedience  from  the  moral 
agent ;  that,  in  order  thereto,  faith,  as  a  moral 
quality,  was  requisite  and  essential ;  in  fact  that 
moral  probation  is  a  necessary  and  inseparable  ele- 
ment of  God's  government  of  man,  as  it  is  conso- 
nant with  his  constitution  as  God's  creature,  and 
from  the  fact  that  his  character  and  manner  of  life, 
with  all  its  results,  must,  necessarily,  be  self-deter- 
mined. That  obedience  is  the  result  of  a  Divine 
faith,  alone,  but  it  is  the  act  of  a  free  agent,  under 
moral  and  spiritual  law.  The  miracles  wrought  of 
God,  by  Moses,  in  Egypt,  form  another  link  in  the 
evidence  from  this  source,  and  manifest  a  develop- 
ment of  His  character  and  government.  The  oppo- 
sition of  "  the  magicians  of  Egypt,"  as  they  are 
plainly  termed  in  Holy  Scripture,  is  also  declared 
by  the  same  author  to  be  "  by  their  enchantments." 


MIRACLES  183 

• 
Here  is  a  concurrent  manifestation  of  a  supernatural 
power  that  is  Satanic ;  a  development,  too,  of  a 
power  that  was  present  in  Eden,  and  traceable 
throughout  sacred  history.  Such  a  statement,  and 
such  an  interpretation  of  language  is  but  in  har- 
mony and  consistent  with  subsequent  teaching  of 
Holy  Scripture,  and  a  subsequent  recognition 
therein  of  the  same  facts,  and  of  the  same  power. 
From  a  positive  standpoint  we  learn  that  the  judg- 
ments, or  plagues  of  God,  visited  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians were  directed  against  their  several  "  gods,"  or 
idols  (Ex.  12 :  12)  and  were  an  assertion  of  His 
claim  upon  them,  as  their  Creator ;  and  moreover, 
not  alone  knowable  of  them,  as  such,  but  also 
actually  known,  and  departed  from  and  disobeyed. 

We  may  trace  a  similarity  between  Jannes  and 
Jambres,  who  opposed  Moses,  and  the  false  prophet 
Balaam,  or,  as  he  is  called,  necromancer.  From  the 
way  in  which  the}'  are  referred  to  by  St.  Paul,  as 
well  as  from  the  facts  of  the  history,  we  may  draw 
inferential  lessons.  Balaam  sought  to  bring  a  curse 
upon  the  Israelites ;  he  sinned  against  knowledge  of 
Jehovah.  We  may  infer  that  the  magicians,  also, 
sinned  against  knowledge;  they  were  finally  con- 
strained to  acknowledge,  "  This  is  the  finger  of 
God  "  (Ex.  8  :  19). 

The  final  judgment  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon 
Egypt,  previous  to  the  Exodus,  was  the  slaying  of 
the  first-born  ;  it  was  the  culminating  act  both  of 
punitive  visitation,  and  of  supernatural  and  direct 


184  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

• 

evidence  of  Jehovah's  supremacy  in  the  controversy 
with  their  idolatry ;  but  it  was  yet  to  be  followed 
by  a  sublime  assertion  of  His  power,  as  Creator,  in 
their  overthrow  in  the  Eed  Sea.  In  confirmation 
of  the  Bible  narrative  of  the  Exodus  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Eed  Sea,  we  have  the  testimony  of 
Eahab  that  it  was  known  and  acknowledged  as  a 
fact  by  the  Canaanites  (Joshua  2  :  8-12).  Also  the 
Philistines  in  like  manner  were  cognizant  of  it, 
and  it  was,  as  a  fact,  by  them  unquestioned.  In 
noticing  the  fact  as  related  to  the  responsibility  of 
the  Egyptians,  and  heathen  nations  generally,  for 
the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  as  Creator,  it  is  im- 
portant, also,  to  notice  the  fact  that  God  has  em- 
phasized the  same  truth  as  related  to  the  responsi- 
bility of  Israel,  as  His  chosen  nation  and  peculiar 
people.  The  decalogue,  itself,  is  so  prefaced  :  "  I 
am  the  Lord  thy  God  who  brought  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  from  the  house  of  bondage."  It  is 
immediately  followed  by  the  first  commandment, 
"  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods,  but  Me." 

The  same  reason  is  adduced  in  ratification  of  the 
Sabbath,  as  a  Divine  ordinance,  and  as  a  memorial 
of  creation,  and  the  great  Creator,  i.  e.,  as  a  reason 
additional  to  the  acknowledgment  and  memorial 
of  God  as  Creator,  the  further  acknowledgment  of 
Him  as  Deliverer.  "  Therefore,  the  Lord  thy  God 
commandeth  thee  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  "  (Deut. 
5  :  15). 

In  like  manner,  in  Deut.  8  :  L  and  15,  16,  Moses 


MIRACLES  185 

connects  with  the  Exodus,  the  marvelous  care  and 
preservation  of  the  Almighty,  as  manifested  in  the 
wilderness  journey.  "  Thy  raiment  waxed  not  old 
upon  thee  neither  did  thy  foot  swell,  these  forty 
years."  !  In  this  one  fact,  as  connected  with  the 
manna,  and  the  smitten  rock,  is  summed  up  the 
miraculous  confirmation  of  the  primary  and  funda- 
mental truth  of  a  personal  Creator,  and  the  glory 
of  His  being,  as  Jehovah ;  and  as  that  fact  was  so 
asserted  to  Israel,  and  so  confirmed,  is  it,  by  them, 
asserted  and  confirmed  to  us. 

Also, — in  this  one  fact  (i.  e.y  "thy  raiment  waxed 
not  old  upon  thee,  neither  did  thy  foot  swell  these 
forty  years  ")  it  is  evidenced,  as  an  appeal  to  their 

1  A  similar  instance  of  the  personal  care  and  oversight  of  God 
over  them,  is,  as  it  were,  incidentally  referred  to  by  the  Psalmist 
(Ps.  105  :  37).  il  He  brought  them  forth  also  with  silver  and  gold  ; 
there  was  not  one  feeble  person  among  their  tribes." 

They  had,  before  the  Exodus,  experienced  God's  singular  care 
when  in  inflicting  plagues  on  the  Egyptians,  He  exempted  the  land 
of  Goshen  from  the  visitations  with  which  he  visited  other  parts 
of  the  laud  (Ex.  9  :  4-7,  24,  25  ;  10  :  22,  23).  In  like  manner  He 
promised  to  the  children  of  Israel  that,  upon  their  obedience,  He 
would,  after  this  manner,  shew  His  special  favor  towards  them 
(Deut.  7 :  12-16).  These  and  many  other  instances  that  might  be 
given  go  to  shew  that,  as  the  supernatural,  or  miraculous,  or,  as  it 
may  be  properly  termed,  the  theistic  element,  pervaded  all  their 
history,  and  so  distinguished  it  as  sacred  history,  so  also,  by  this 
fact,  is  the  transcendent  personality  of  Jehovah  exalted  and  mag- 
nified ;  and,  as  this  truth  holds  prominence  in  their  history  and 
throughout  Holy  Scripture,  in  the  same  ratio  does  it  discredit  it 
and  deny  the  dominance  which  is  claimed  by  "  Lux  Mundi  "  for 
the  Pantheistic  doctrine  of  immanence,  in  Creation. 


1S6  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

own  knowledge,  and  to  their  own  consciousness, 
how  completely  the  supernatural  pervades  and  is 
bound  up  with  the  natural  in  their  history,  and 
throughout  Holy  Scripture  as  an  organic  whole ; 
and  that,  if  this  particular  narrative,  itself,  is  au- 
thentic and  true,  then  its  essentially  distinctive  and 
supernatural  character,  as  sacred  history,  is  herein 
and  hereby  demonstrated  ;  while,  if  it  be  not  so 
received,  in  toto,  it  must  be,  in  toto,  rejected  ;  and 
it  is  equally  valid  and  true  of  the  whole  of  the  in- 
spired record.  A  due  reflection  upon,  and  a  just 
estimate  of  theistic  evidences,  generally,  will  go  to 
shew  how  the  God  of  nature  is  evidenced  in  all 
His  works,  as  in  all  the  course  of  the  world,  and  in 
the  lives  of  men  ;  and  it  is  sufficiently  evident  to  a 
reasonable  faith,  that  the  supernatural,  everywhere, 
interpenetrates  and  pervades  the  natural ;  but  the 
evidences  of  this  latter  fact  culminates  in  miracu- 
lous interventions.  God,  who  wrought  all  the 
miracles  in  Egypt,  Himself  went  before  them,  in 
the  Exodus,  by  a  supernatural  sign  in  the  heavens, 
discernible  by  all,  "  the  pillar  of  a  cloud  by  day, 
and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night.'1  He  took  it  not 
away,  at  any  time.  At  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea, 
a  special  and  a  marvelous  transposition  took  place. 
Moses,  at  God's  command,  lifted  up  his  rod  and 
stretched  out  his  hand  over  the  sea,  and  as  he  did 
so,  the  waters  divided,  and  the  angel  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  pillar  of  the  cloud,  which  heretofore  had 
gone  before  them,  removed  and  stood  behind  them, 


MIRACLES  187 

being  a  cloud  and  darkness  to  the  Egyptians,  so 
that  they  came  not  near  to  the  Israelites  all  night ; 
while  it  lighted  the  latter  in  their  forward  march 
through  the  bed  of  the  sea.  We  are  told,  both  in  the 
twenty-second  and  twenty-ninth  verses  that  "  the 
waters  were  a  wall  unto  them,  on  their  right  hand 
and  on  their  left."  When  all  Pharoah's  host,  his 
chariots  and  horsemen  had  followed  them  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea — not  until  then — the  Lord  took  off 
their  chariot  wheels,  that  they  drave  them  heavily, 
and  they  were  made  to  realize  that  the  Lord  fought 
for  the  Israelites  against  the  Egyptians.  Then,  at 
God's  command,  Moses  again  stretched  forth  his  rod 
over  the  sea  which  returned  to  his  strength  behind 
the  Israelites  and  overwhelmed  the  Egyptians ; 
while  it  was  restrained  before  the  Israelites  until 
they  passed  over.  We  learn  from  the  statement  of 
the  Gibeonites  that  the  tradition  of  this  interposi- 
tion had  reached  them,  as  we  learn  from  that  of 
Kahab  that  it  had  reached  other  of  the  tribes  of 
Canaan. 

In  chronological  order,  I  will  next  mention  the 
miracles  of  the  wilderness  journey.  The  smiting 
of  the  rock  by  Moses,  when  the  Israelites  strove 
with  God,  at  Rephidim,  and  they  were  miraculously 
supplied  with  water ;  the  miracle  of  the  manna,  of 
which  they  ate,  daily,  until  they  reached  the  bor- 
ders of  the  promised  land ;  the  miracle  of  the 
quails,  at  Kibroth-hattaavah  ;  the  miracle  of  heal- 
ing those  bitten    by  fiery  serpents.     There  is  an 


188  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

instance  specially  noticeable,  viz.,  the  judgment  of 
God  upon  Philistines  in  connection  with  the  ark. 
The  bringing  of  the  ark  into  the  temple  of  Dagon 
and  setting  it  by  Dagon  was  in  effect  to  class  Je- 
hovah with  Dagon;  and  it  was  so  regarded  and 
judged  of  Jehovah.  Five  cities,  in  succession,  were 
smitten,  and  the  Philistines  consulted  their  "  di- 
viners." Their  language  and  advice  are  significant. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  "magicians"  of  Egypt,  there 
is  evidence  that  they  were  not  without  knowledge 
of  Jehovah,  as  the  true  and  living  God.  Their 
reference,  also,  to  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  and  to 
Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians  hardening  their  hearts, 
is  not  only  corroborative  of  the  historic  fact  of  the 
Exodus,  as  known  to  them,  but  also  gives  evidence 
of  a  moral  conviction  of  the  truth  and  force  of  the 
claims  of  Jehovah,  so  asserted.  "  Wherefore  do  ye 
harden  your  hearts,  like  as  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyp- 
tians hardened  their  hearts?  When  He  had  wrought 
wondrously  among  them,  did  He  not  let  the  people 
go,  and  they  departed  ?  "  (1  Sam.  6  :  6). 

Among  the  prominent  miracles  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  the  passage  of  Jordan,  and  the  fall  of 
Jericho.  It  is  similar  in  character  to  the  passage 
of  the  Ked  Sea.  As  that  event  stood  related  to  the 
leadership  of  Moses,  so  does  the  passage  of  the 
Jordan  to  that  of  Joshua.  The  words  of  Jehovah 
in  relation  thereto  are  very  significant,  and  they  go 
to  show  that  it  was  a  purpose  of  the  Most  High  so 
to  magnify  Joshua  before  the  Israelites,  and  to  give 


MIRACLES  189 

them  a  sensible  token  of  His  presence  with  Joshua, 
as  He  had  been  with  Moses.  Such  was  the  assur- 
ance to  Joshua  (Joshua  1  :  1-10  ;  3:7),  "  This  day 
will  I  begin  to  magnify  thee  in  the  sight  of  all 
Israel."  As  it  has  been  attempted  to  explain  away 
the  miraculous  character  of  the  passage  of  the  Red 
Sea,  so  of  that  of  the  Jordan.  The  words  of  the 
inspired  writer  are  however  very  plain,  in  both 
cases,  in  regard  to  the  passage  through  the  waters. 
At  the  Red  Sea,  we  are  told  "  The  waters  were  a 
wall  unto  them  on  their  right  hand  and  on  their 
left."  In  Joshua  3  :  16  we  are  told  that  the  waters 
from  above  were  arrested  and  "  stood  on  an  heap," 
and,  while  the  distinctly  miraculous  intervention 
of  Jehovah  is  thus  marked,  it  is  made  still  more 
significant  by  the  fact  that  such  intervention  is 
directly  connected  with  the  passage  of  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant,  and  only  when  the  priests  who  bare 
it  had  come  up  out  of  the  waters,  did  the  waters  of 
Jordan  return  to  their  accustomed  course  (Joshua 
4  :  18).  The  circumstances  attending  the  fall  of 
Jericho  are  similar  in  character,  and,  as  both  were 
designed  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  Joshua  and  to 
assure  the  Israelites  that  they  were  to  regard  him 
as  Moses'  successor,  so  do  we  find  that  the  fame  of 
these  events,  and  of  the  power  and  majesty  of  Je- 
hovah was,  in  like  manner,  magnified  before  the 
surrounding  nations,  as  it  was  at  the  passage  of  the 
Red  Sea. 

I  will  again  remark  upon  the  fact  that  the  whole 


190  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  the  Old  Testament  history  is  pervaded  by  the 
marvelous,  as  everything  relating  to  the  Most  High 
is  so  marked  ;  and  this  attribute  of  God  is  so  fre- 
quently referred  to  in  Holy  Scripture.  There  are 
two  other  miraculous  acts,  recorded  in  the  prophe- 
cies of  Daniel,  that  must  be  included  in  this  sum- 
mary. First,  the  deliverance  of  Shadrach,  Meshach 
and  Abednego  from  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  and, 
secondly,  the  deliverance  of  Daniel  from  the  den  of 
lions.  They  are  put  upon  record  as  facts  of  history. 
I  do  not  know  that,  as  such,  they  have  been  dis- 
puted by  those  who  would  reject  the  prophecies  of 
Daniel.  They  are  related  in  Holy  Scripture  as 
facts  connected  with  the  history  of  Chaldea,  and 
the  lives  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar  and  Darius. 
As  they  are  connected  with  the  reigns  of  those 
monarchs,  they  are  connected  with  profane  as  well 
as  sacred  history.  Like  the  dreams  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and  the  warning  to  Belshazzar,  and  the 
judgment  subsequently  executed  upon  him,  we  may 
regard  them  as  evidences  of  the  moral  government 
of  God,  as  Creator,  over  the  several  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  as  over  the  Jews ;  declared  alike  in 
the  historical  and  in  the  prophetical  books  of  Holy 
Scripture. 

Lastly,  I  will  notice  the  history  of  Jonah  the 
prophet.  As  a  whole  it  is  very  suggestive,  and  it 
illustrates  what  I  have  before  said  as  to  the  cardinal 
element  of  Theism,  as  a  foundation  truth,  viz.,  God, 
as  Creator,  the  basis  of  all  subsequent  revelations. 


MIRACLES  191 

The  intercourse  between  Jonah  and  the  mariners  is 
replete  with  testimony  on  this  point,  and  with  ele- 
mentary theistio  truth.  Jonah's  testimony  to  Jeho- 
vah as  Creator,  his  directions  to  them,  their  act  in 
ultimately  following  his  directions,  and  his  deliver- 
ance out  of  the  fish's  belly,  by  God's  personal,  im- 
mediate and  transcendent  action,  as  God,  are,  all,  in 
perfect  keeping  with  the  primary  elements  of  theistic 
truth, — both  under  natural  and  under  supernatural 
law.  The  sneer  of  the  rationalist  at  what  he  calls 
"the  venerable  fable,"  is  but  a  manifestation  of  the 
wilful  wickedness  of  the  sinner  who  "  will  not  be 
learned,  nor  understand  " ;  and  who  is  determined 
to  sin  against  the  law  of  his  own  being,  and  who, 
by  that  law  will  be  judged. 

I  think  I  may  say  that  I  have  briefly  commented 
upon,  and  noticed  the  most  prominent  instances  of 
miraculous  interventions  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament,  but  it  is  necessary  to  realize  the  fact 
that  the  miraculous  element  may  be  said  to  be  in- 
separable from  all  the  theistic  records.  I  think  it 
may  be  said  that  the  antediluvial  period  was  the 
period  of  the  world's  history  in  which  God's  moral 
government  thereof  was  distinguished  as  a  govern- 
ment under  natural  law  ; — yet  not  so  absolutely  as 
to  altogether  denude  Theism  of  its  distinctive  char- 
acteristic ;  but, — after  the  flood,  there  is  a  marked 
advance  in  the  presence  and  operation  of  the  supra- 
natural  element,  and  a  developing  manifestation  of 
the  Divine  transcendence  and  personality  ;  and  with 


192  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  going  clown  into  Egypt  we  enter  upon  that 
period  of  which  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  his- 
tory of  the  Jews,  as  a  people,  and,  as  a  nation, — 
from  the  birth  of  Moses  until  the  entrance  into 
Canaan  was  distinguished  as  one  continuous  miracle. 
The  visible  presence  of  the  Shekinah  accompanied 
them  throughout,  and  this  was  only  the  one  uniform 
and  constant  assertion  of  God's  personality,  and  of 
His  presence  with  them,  as  their  God.  Other  in- 
stances of  the  miraculous  may  be  called  collateral 
and  corroborative  of  this. 

Without  here  dwelling  upon  the  cumulative  char- 
acter of  Theistic  evidences,  we  may  notice  that  the 
several  and  distinct  phases  of  supernatural  manifes- 
tations are  to  be  traced  to  and  recognized  as  im- 
mediate interpositions  from  God,  and  confirmatory 
of  the  primary  and  fundamental  fact  of  His  person- 
ality, as  First-Cause,  Creator  and  Benefactor,  already 
known  as  such  in  and  by  His  works  in  Creation  and 
Providence. 

Archaeology  has  already  given  to  us  confirmatory 
proofs  of  the  reliability  of  the  inspired  record,  and 
also  of  the  traditional  basis  on  which  the  Canon  of 
the  Old  Testament  rests ;  and  at  the  present  day, 
when  the  various  sceptical  and  rationalistic  the- 
ories are  obtaining  acceptance,  even  within  the 
Church,  such  aggressions,  as  they  stimulate  faithful 
souls  to  renewed  study  of  Biblical  literature,  such 
study  is  progressively  leading  up  to  further  demon- 
strations, from  archaeological  sources,  that  the  faith 


MIRACLES  193 

of  the  Christian  Church,  in  being  based  upon  the 
Divine  traditions,  as  embodied  by  inspiration,  in 
Holy  Scripture,  is  based  upon  an  immovable  rock, 
against  which  false  philosophy  and  unbelief  shall 
beat  in  vain. 

I  have  considered  the  subject  of  miracles,  sever- 
ally and  specifically,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  a  dis- 
tinctive "element"  of  Theism,  and  also  because,  as 
such,  it  characterizes  both  the  Old  and  the  New 
Testaments.  I  have  referred  to  some  of  the  more 
prominent  and  marked  historic  instances,  specially 
because  of  their  connection  with  epochs  of  sacred 
history.  In  recapitulation  of  the  whole,  I  will  now 
note  the  fact  that  the  instances  so  referred  to  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  isolated  and  extraordinary 
parts  of  that  history,  nor  is  the  element  itself  to  be 
regarded  as  separable  therefrom.  It  is,  in  fact,  an 
element  as  distinguished  from  an  accident  in  the 
character  and  composition  of  Holy  Scripture,  as  it 
is  a  special  manifestation  of  the  character  and  per- 
sonality of  God.  The  miraculous  acts  are  most  in- 
timately allied  with  the  supernatural  and  personal 
communications,  whether  in  dreams,  visions  or  rev- 
elations, and  these,  also,  with  the  actings  of  that 
Providence  and  care  which  marks  the  transcendent 
character  of  the  Divine  government,  as  it  evidences 
and  discloses  the  glory  of  a  Divine  personality,  the 
Author  of  Law,  and  Order,  but  in  no  wise  limited 
by  such  law  as  is  within  our  ken  and  analysis.  I 
would,    therefore,   say    that,   in    summarizing   the 


194  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

miracles  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  may  regard  such 
instances  as  the  sun  standing  still  upon  Gibeon,  the 
signs  given  to  Gideon,  the  history  of  Jonah,  and  the 
miracles  of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  as  further  and  salient 
points  in  history,  and  illustrations  of  the  principle; 
but,  that  the  miraculous  .permeates  every  part 
thereof,  as  it  is  homogeneous  with  it,  and  inseparable 
from  it,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  historic  facts 
of  the  Bible  interpenetrate  those  which  succeed,  and 
bind  all  together  as  one  whole. 

But,  while  we  may  perceive  the  coherence  and  es- 
sential unity  of  all  the  elements  of  Theism,  whether 
mediate  or  immediate, — and  as  it  is  evident  to  us 
that  the  immediate  and  direct  communications 
which  God  has  made  of  Himself  are  of  the  most 
positive  character,  as  they  stand  related  to  His 
supreme  perfections,  and  are  the  direct  acts  of  His 
sovereign  will, — we  can  quite  understand  how  re- 
pugnant is  the  principle  here  asserted  to  those  who 
lay  stress  upon  God's  "  immanence  "  in  the  laws  by 
which  the  universe  is  upheld,  and  of  which  we  are 
enabled  to  have  some  cognizance.  If  the  essential 
and  pervading  distinction  of  Holy  Scripture  is,  by 
philosophic  criticism,  eliminated,  we  may  certainly 
expect  that  the  verity  of  miracles,  as  essentially 
supernatural  acts,  and,  as  declarative  of  the  Divine 
transcendence  and  personality,  will  meet  with  an- 
tagonism ;  and  such  is  the  case.  "  Lux  Mundi "  ac- 
knowledges and  negatively  assents  to  such  antago- 
nism.    They  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  "  the  Church 


MIRACLES  195 

does  not  rest  its  claims  upon  miracles."  Yet,  the 
whole  tenor  of  Holy  Writ  discloses  the  fact  that, 
according  to  the  mind  of  the  Most  High,  the  mira- 
cles of  Scripture  are  its  culminatory  evidences,  both 
under  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments.  As  a  fact,  it 
needs  no  argument.  It  is  indisputable.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  show  the  contrast  and  diametrical  opposi- 
tion that  exists  between  philosophic  rationalism,  or 
"naturalism," — by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called 
— and  the  teaching  of  "  One  living  and  true  God, 
everlasting,"  whether  revealed  in  nature,  and  the 
human  conscience,  or  by  His  Holy  Word,  and  by 
His  Incarnate  Son. 

But,  not  only  is  such  a  contrast  established  as  a 
negative  issue  between  evolution  and  elementary 
theism,  but  a  positive  issue  must  logically  follow. 
The  author  of  "  Lux  Muncli,"  and  Dr.  Flint  (al- 
though an  apologist  for  Theism)  are  uin  the  same 
boat."  The  latter  says  that  "  the  mediaeval  belief 
in  miracles  and  the  modern  belief  in  law,  cannot 
be  held  by  the  same  mind,  much  less  by  the  same 
society."  Is  belief  in  miracles  then  simply  "mediae- 
val," as  tantamount  to  an  effete  superstition  ? 

Either  miracles  are  not  credible,  because  God, — 
the  Lord  Jehovah, — is  not  /  or,  because  the  Bible  is 
not  historically  true,  nor  plenary  inspired,  as  a  rev- 
elation given  by  Him  to  man. 

(1)  If  the  credibility  of  miracles  is  attacked 
from  the  historical  side,  as  facts,  be  it  the  Old,  or 
the  New  Testament,  the  whole  Book  is   attacked ; 


196  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

and,  not  only  so,  but  rejected.  Logically,  it  must 
be  so. 

(2)  If  the  Bible  is  repudiated,  or  not,  so,  received 
as  the  Book  of  God,  there  is  no  actual  basis,  after- 
wards, for  belief  in  a  Supreme  First-Cause.  The 
God  of  nature  and  the  God  of  the  Bible  is  one  and 
the  same.  The  God  of  nature  is  so  denied  by  those 
who  deny  the  Bible,  and  the  universe,  from  their 
standpoint,  is  not  His  handiwork.  The  unity  be- 
tween natural  and  revealed  religion  is  perfect  and 
complete,  and  cannot  be  dissolved.  From  whatever 
point  Theism  is  attacked,  the  homogeneity  of  its 
elements  establishes  its  unity,  and  so,  its  security. 
In  any  case,  the  alternative  is, — God,  or  Atheism. 

The  facts  in  the  case  are  these.  The  Cosmos, 
throughout,  is  pervaded  by  the  marvelous ;  the 
Bible,  as  the  Book  of  God,  is  identified,  as  it  is  per- 
meated with  the  same  element ;  the  marvelous,  or 
supernatural,  and  is,  in  all  its  parts,  inseparable 
from  it.  In  like  manner  miraculous  acts  are  the 
natural,  necessary  and  spontaneous  acts  of  God's 
personality,  as  He  is  the  Supreme  and  Personal 
First-Cause,  and  also  the  Supreme  personal  perfec- 
tion ;  Uncreated  and  Eternal. 


CHAPTEK   X 

THE    LAW    OF    CO 

THEISM 

We  pass  on,  now,  from  the  consideration  of  those 
theistic  evidences  which  are  objective  and  abstract 
to  that  which  is  subjective,  concrete  and  personal ; 
from  the  law  of  external  evidence  to  that  which  is 
internal.  We  have  seen,  I  think,  that  the  objective 
evidence  is  not,  and  has  not  been  partial  in  respect 
either  to  time  or  place,  but  that  in  all  ages  and  to 
all  people  God  has  been,  and  yet  is  knowable,  albeit 
that  means  and  opportunities,  as  part  of  the  Divine 
economy,  differ  in  degree. 

We  have  now  to  consider  the  problem,  Is  man 
under  all  conditions  in  which  he  can  be  placed  and 
in  all  ages,  ontologically,  psychically  and  personally 
considered,  capable  of  obtaining  a  saving  knowl- 
edge of  God  ?  In  other  words,  the  force  and  value 
of  the  law  of  conscience,  under  the  conditions  of 
natural  law.  In  solution  of  this  problem  I  shall 
have  regard  to  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture,  and 
to  admitted  facts  of  human  experience,— chiefly 
and  directly ;  and  I  shall  endeavor  to  consider  (1) 
the  ontological  capacities  of  the  human  soul  as  re- 
lated  to  the  evidences  of  a  personal  God  in  the 

197 


198  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

works  of  creation  and  providence  ;  and  to  its  pow- 
ers of  moral  assimilation  ;  (2)  the  proper  solution  of 
the  question  why  man  is  ignorant  of  God,  in  view 
of  such  available  evidences ;  and  (3)  and  lastly,  the 
mandatory  power,  as  connected  with  the  capacity 
of  conscience,  as  a  discriminative  faculty,  and  as 
related  to  the  determinating  power  of  the  will,  and 
so  to  the  formation  of  character,  under  Natural 
Law. 

Here  we  may  see  that  capacity  and  moral  obliga- 
tion are  bound  up  together ;  and,  as  our  moral  fac- 
ulties have  reciprocal  influence  upon  each  other,  so 
also  the  course  of  action  taken  by  man  upon  what 
he  has  before  known,  and  personally  passed  judg- 
ment upon,  as  morally  true,  or  false,  good,  or  evil, 
will  and  does  certainly  affect  his  power  of  intel- 
lectual, as  well  as  moral  discrimination,  and  so, 
necessarily,  affect  the  formation  of  his  moral  char- 
acter, actually,  and  in  the  eye  of  God.  I  say  this 
is  true  of  man's  action  upon  what,  after  due  use,  or 
opportunity  of  use  of  the  means  of  knowledge,  he 
considers  true,  or  false,  right  or  wrong ;  that  it  will 
and  does  affect  this  knowledge  and  apprehension  of 
right  or  wrong,  and  his  affections  towards  the 
same  ;  and  this  as  distinguished  from  the  fact  itself, 
in  kind,  or  in  degree. 

In  corroboration  of  this  statement,  it  is  enough 
to  refer  to  the  general  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture, 
and  to  human  consciousness.  Wrong-doing  does, 
by  an  invariable  and  uniform  law  of  our  moral  na- 


THE  LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  199 

ture,  necessarily  affect,  in  the  same  ratio,  our  pow- 
ers of  apprehension  of  truth  relating  to  God,  as  it 
affects  our  powers  of  moral  discrimination  between 
good  and  evil,  and  our  affections  towards  the  same. 
For  this  reason,  as  is  well  known,  "  the  mind," 
($uv£?i?)  and  "the  heart "(#a?<S<a)  are,  severally  used 
by  St.  Paul,  as  synonyms  for  "  conscience  "  (suvetdijstfy 
and,  as  words  descriptive  of  parts  of  our  moral  na- 
ture, they  are  used  as  convertible  terms  to  describe 
the  whole.  Thus,  St.  Paul,  in  describing  the  con- 
dition of  the  Ephesians,  as  unconverted,  describes 
the  universal  condition  of  the  "  natural  man,"  when 
he  says,  that  they  walked  "  in  the  vanity  of  their 
mind,  having  the  understanding  darkened,  being- 
alienated  from  the  life  of  God  through  the  igno- 
rance that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blindness  of 
their  heart."  The  ontological  and  psychical  char- 
acter of  man  is  here  described,  as  well  as  his  moral 
nature,  as  affected  by  sin,  and,  so  far  as  elementary 
and  practical  knowledge  of  God  is  concerned,  be- 
cause of  such  capacity  ;  and  because  God  has  always 
given  objective  evidence  adequate  to  the  require- 
ments of  His  moral  government,  and  to  the  actual 
necessities  of  the  case.  These  facts  establish  the 
certainty,  the  justice,  the  wisdom  also,  and  we  may 
say,  even,  the  beneficence  of  the  Divine  govern- 
ment ;  and  the  Divine  law  even  in  the  eye  of  the 
creature  is  recognized  as  holy,  just  and  good. 
Moreover,  it  does  away  with  all  doubt,  and  all  con- 
tingency, as  to  the  fact  itself,  viewed  from  both 


200  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

standpoints  ;  that  is  to  say,  from  the  ample  objective 
evidence  which  God  has  given  of  Himself,  both ' 
mediately  in  the  works  of  creation  and  providence, 
and  immediately  and  directly  by  supernatural 
agencies,  as  hereinbefore  set  forth  ;  and  also  by 
the  uniform  law  of  man's  ontological  qualities  and 
moral  constitution.  But,  we  have  to  consider  not 
only  the  fact  of  the  generic  and  ontological  capaci- 
ties of  man,  psychical  and  moral,  by  reason  of 
which  he  is,  and  has  been,  universally  responsible 
for  evidence,  because  universally  capable  of  receiv- 
ing and  acting  upon  it,  but  we  have  also  to  consider 
the  various  degrees  of  such  capacities.  We  may 
classify  them  under  two  heads ;  that  is  to  say,  as 
educational  and  external,  and  as  moral  and  internal 
capacities,  and  in  both  of  these  aspects  of  man's 
being,  there  are  degrees  of  capacity,  and  so  degrees 
of  force  in  conscience  as  an  internal,  subjective,  and 
personal  evidence.  I  say  there  are  degrees  of  force, 
but  the  fact,  itself,  is  universally  true  because  of 
generic  identity  in  man.  There  is  but  one  genus 
of  man,  though  man}7  species.  There  are  degrees 
of  intellectual  cultivation,  and  of  external  and  ob- 
jective advantages,  and,  also,  not  only  various 
degrees  of  civilizing,  but,  also,  of  religious  in- 
fluences, objective  and  subjective;  but  under  each 
and  all  of  these  circumstances,  and  degrees  of  ex- 
ternal influences,  there  is  no  case  to  be  found,  of 
which  it  can  be  said,  "  Here  is  an  instance  of  a  race 
of  men  in  such  an  epoch  of  time,  that  they  have 


THE  LAW  OF   CONSCIENCE  201 

actually  no  sense  whatever  of  a  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  nor  of  any  measure  or  kind  of 
moral  obligation.  Doubtless,  the  history  of  this 
world  of  ours  exhibits  most  appalling  facts,  and 
most  amazing  contrasts  in  the  character  of  its  in- 
habitants from  many  points  of  view.  There  are, 
and  there  have  been  races  of  men,  very  low,  and 
debased  in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  and  of  social 
life,  and  very  low  in  a  state  of  barbarity,  as  well  as 
of  vice.  "We  have  astonishing  instances  of  the 
plastic  characters  of  the  physical  nature,  and  of  its 
capacities  of  endurance  and  adaptation,  and  of  the 
great  influence  upon  it  of  climatic  conditions,  and 
that,  both  upon  the  mind  and  the  body.  We  see 
that  there  are  great  capacities  of  material  and  of 
mental  elevation,  and  of  advancement ;  and  also  in 
these  respects,  of  deterioration.  We  likewise  see 
that,  morally  and  religiously  considered,  the  general 
and  strong  tendency  is,  not  upward,  but  downward, 
and  that  such  has  ever  been  the  record  of  history. 
While  multifarious  forms  of  superstition  and  of 
fanaticism  bear  sway,  the  undoubted  and  eternal 
principles  of  truth,  of  justice,  of  love  and  of  purity, 
are  ever  at  a  discount,  and  in  a  very  large,  if  not 
increasing  minority  ;  and,  although  the  only  prin- 
ciples of  objective  truth  that  have  ever  been  able, 
successfully  to  cope  with  dominating  ill,  so  as  to 
restrict  it,  or  to  minimize  its  force; — although  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  inspired  Word  of 
God,  revealing  Him  as  the  Saviour  and  Friend  of 


202  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

man,  is  preached  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down 
from  Heaven,  and  is,  and  has  been  accompanied  by 
results  that  cannot  be  fairly  or  justly  denied  ;  yet, — 
that  these  Divine  facts  and  principles  (like  their 
Divine  subject  and  Author  was  in  His  day)  are 
despised  and  rejected  by  the  great  majority,  and  they 
scornfully  declare  that  they  will  have  none  of  them. 
With  regard  to  the  external,  or  objective  degrees 
of  advantage,  or  disadvantage,  and,  so  also  of  sub- 
jective capacity,  it  is  to  be  said  that  not  only  the 
character  of  the  Divine  personality,  but  also  the 
dogmatic  and  specific  declarations  of  His  inspired 
law  assure  us  that  man  shall  be  dealt  with  here- 
after according  to  such  degrees  of  advantage,  or 
disadvantage.  As  He  has  allowed  sin  to  enter  the 
world,  in  consequence  of  man's  trial,  and,  as  a  further 
consequence,  allowed  various  ills  and  evils  to  ob- 
tain, so,  the  man  or  woman  who  comes  into  the 
world  under  the  incubus  of  a  dwarfed  intellect,  and 
under  surrounding  circumstances,  social  and  moral, 
by  which  he  or  she  is  seriously  handicapped  in  the 
race  and  warfare  of  life ;  and  midst  all  this,  as  God 
has  not  allowed  them  to  be  bereft  of  all  moral 
power,  or  help,  so  He  will  only  require  of  them 
obedience  to  such  primary,  palpable  and  known 
laws  of  truth  and  right  as  He  has  made  known  and 
available  unto  them.  Such  declaration,  clearly, 
may  be  made,  and  of  such  we  may  be  fully  convinced, 
in  reference  to  what  we  may  call  mechanical  hin- 
drances to  truth  and  duty. 


THE   LAW   OF  CONSCIENCE  203 

In  regard  to  the  second  class,  or  division  to  which 
I  have  made  reference,  viz.,  degrees  of  moral  per- 
ception, I  have  made  the  distinction  between  the 
two  classes,  with  special  reference  to  those  tribes 
and  peoples  who  may  be  said  to  be  abnormally  re- 
moved from  the  rest  of  the  world  in  intellectual  en- 
dowments, and  social  surroundings  ;  in  fact  what 
we  may  properly  term  exceptional  conditions  of 
general  disadvantage.  This  second  division  will 
include  the  great  mass  of  mankind  as  it  comprises, 
chiefly,  those  who  have  not  been  possessed  of  the 
peculiar  blessings  of  God's  written  and  inspired 
Word.  Of  them  the  remarks  of  Hooker  will  apply 
as  pertinent.  "  If  then,  it  is  here  demanded  by 
what  means  it  should  come  to  pass  (the  greatest 
part  of  God's  law  moral  being  so  easy  for  all  men 
to  know)  that  so  many  thousands  of  men,  notwith- 
standing, have  been  ignorant  even  of  principal 
moral  duties,  not  imagining  the  breach  of  them  to 
be  sin;  I  deny  not  but  lewd  and  wicked  custom,  be- 
ginning perhaps,  at  the  first,  amongst  few,  after- 
wards spreading  into  greater  multitudes,  and  so 
continuing  from  time  to  time,  may  be  of  force,  even 
in  plain  things,  to  smother  the  light  of  natural  un- 
derstanding ;  because,  men  will  not  bend  their  wills 
to  examine  whether  things  wherewith  they  have 
been  accustomed,  be  good  or  evil "  (Hooker, 
Book  II,  ch.  8,  sec.  11).  But  these  remarks  of 
Hooker,  and  the  distinction  that  I  have  drawn 
are     both     verified     in     a     special     manner     in 


204  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

the  case  of  the  criminal  classes,  as  a  com- 
munity. 

These  are  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world, 
not  geographically,  but  morally.  Surrounded,  in 
fact,  by  Christian  light,  and  knowledge,  it  shines 
not  to  them.  They  are,  to  use  the  strong  words  of 
Archdeacon  Farrar,  "not  so  much  born  into  the 
world,  as  damned  into  the  world,"  and  this  descrip- 
tion applies  not  only  to  the  body,  but  specially  to 
the  soul.  Children  are  born  into  an  atmosphere  of 
evil.  They  grow  up  from  tenderest  years,  under 
its  awful  and  blighting  influences !  What  can  we 
say  of  the  law  of  conscience  here  ?  In  the  same 
way  that  we  refer  the  objective  fact  to  the  cogni- 
zance and  moral  government  of  a  personal  God,  so 
do  we,  also,  refer  the  subjective  and  moral  results 
of  the  fact.  All  that  we  can  say,  or  know,  is  this : 
God  will  not  require  more  than  He  has  given.  It 
is  enough  for  us  to  know  this.  We  have  His  char- 
acter, and  perfections  to  rest  upon.  "  The  just  Lord 
is  in  the  midst  of  her;  He  will  not  do  iniquity." 
Let  this  suffice  us. 

It  is  the  character  and  power  of  sin,  as  a  law 
dominating  not  only  individual  men,  as  its  subjects, 
but  societies  and  races,  that  accounts  for  the  small 
measure  of  force  operating  by  conscience  upon 
man's  responsible  will  as  the  governing  power,  of 
his  personal  life,  as  well  as  obscuring  the  light  of 
his  understanding  in  relation  to  moral  truth,  and 
religious  duty.     Neither  man,  as  an  individual,  nor 


THE   LAW   OF   CONSCIENCE  205 

societies,  nor  nations,  err  through  actual  ignorance, 
or  lack  of  knowledge,  or  of  the  means  of  knowl- 
edge, but  through  the  controlling  power  of  sense, 
and  of  passion,  as  evil  motives.  So  far  as  the  sub- 
jective and  internal  power  of  the  individual  con- 
science is  concerned,  or  what  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Himself  terms,  "  the  light  that  is  in  thee,"  it  is 
palpably  true  that  what  is  clearly  known  to  be 
wrong,  and  evil,  obtains  parallel  results  in  the  hu- 
man conscience,  now,  and  under  the  full  measure  of 
gospel  light,  as  it  did  either  under  the  natural  evi- 
dences, or  under  the  Mosaic  economy.  Nay,  it  is 
certainly  true  that  the  malignity  and  antagonism 
of  sin  is  but  aggravated  by  fuller  degrees  of  light, 
and  that  the  gospel  matures  the  most  desperate  of 
all  sinners.  Men  can,  and  do,  under  the  plainest 
preaching  and  the  most  spiritual,  heart-searching 
and  faithful  ministry  of  God's  Word,  sin  most  de- 
ceitfully, flagrantly  and  determinedly.  It  is  of 
these  that  St.  Jude  prophetically  wrote  "  These  are 
spots  in  your  feasts  of  charity,  when  they  feast 
with  you  feeding  themselves,  without  fear  ;  clouds 
they  are  without  water,  carried  about  of  winds  ; 
trees  whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit,  twice 
dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots  ;  raging  waves  of  the 
sea  foaming  out  their  own  shame  ;  wandering  stars, 
to  whom  is  reversed  the  blackness  of  darkness  for- 
ever" (Jude  12,  13).  St.  Peter  speaks  of  the  same 
people  in  similar  terms  in  the  second  chapter  of  his 
second  epistle,  and  in  the  thirteenth  verse  he  says 


206  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

they  "shall  receive  the  reward  of  unrighteousness, 
as  they  who  count  it  pleasure  to  riot  in  the  day- 
time. Spots  they  are  and  blemishes,  sporting  them- 
selves with  their  own  deceivings,  while  they  feast 
with  you ;  having  eyes  full  of  adultery,  and  that 
cannot  cease  from  sin ;  beguiling  unstable  souls." 
"  Wells  without  water,  clouds  that  are  carried  with 
a  tempest ;  to  whom  the  mist  of  darkness  is  re- 
served forever  "  (v.  17). 

Not  only  is  the  present  age  of  gospel  light,  and 
abounding  religious  privilege  and  great  religious 
activity,  characterized  by  a  generation  of  presump- 
tuous evil-doers,  and  scornful  unbelievers  wTho  are, 
as  adherents  of  churches,  or  non-professors  of  any 
form  of  religion,  such  transgressors  as  the  world 
has  not  before  seen  for  audacity  and  defiant  wick- 
edness, but  people  of  a  like  character  are  to  be 
found  within  the  pale  of  Christian  profession. 
Hypocrisy  the  most  deceitful,  and  moral  insensibil- 
ity and  hardihood  most  amazing,  are  palpable  facts 
within  the  knowledge  and  experience  of  Christian 
ministers.  It  is  a  matter  of  painful  surprise  even 
to  instructed  and  experimental  Christians,  that  re- 
ligious knowledge  and  influences  can  be  so  sinned 
against,  and  the  light  and  authority  of  conscience 
so  daringly  set  at  defiance  by  some  who  have  fully 
and  solemnly  espoused  all  Christian  obligations, 
and  who  share  in  the  most  sacred  of  Christian  priv- 
ileges. I  refer  to  this  fact  here  in  order  to  demon- 
strate that  the  degree  of  actual  force  of  the  law  of 


THE   LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  2<>7 

conscience  operative  upon  the  individual,  is  not  reg- 
ulated, necessarily  and  primarily,  by  the  degree  of 
knowledge,  but  by  the  moral  affections,  and  as  the 
individual  prevailingly  loves  and,  so,  chooses  and 
identifies  himself  with  either  good,  or  evil,  morally 
considered  ;  that  is  to  say,  with  sin,  or  with  holi- 
ness. Therefore,  while  a  degree  of  knowledge  of 
right  or  wrong  is  necessary  in  order  to  the  deter- 
mination of  character,  it  is  not  necessary,  abso- 
lutely, that  man  should  be  in  possession  of  a  high 
degree  of  evidence  of  elementary  Theism,  in  order 
either  to  responsibility,  or  to  happiness.  Also,  it  is 
to  be  considered,  as  Hooker  has  judiciously  observed 
in  regard  to  the  law  of  reason,  as  the  law  peculiarly 
pertaining  to  man,  and  given  to  him  of  God  for  the 
governance  of  His  life,  "  Whatsoever  we  have  hith- 
erto taught,  or  shall  hereafter,  concerning  the  force 
of  man's  natural  understanding,  that  there  is  no 
kind  of  faculty,  or  power  in  man,  or  any  other 
creature  which  can  rightly  perform  the  functions 
allotted  to  it  without  the  perpetual  aid,  and  con- 
currence of  that  Supreme  Cause  of  all  things " 
(Hooker,  Book  II,  ch.  9,  sec.  1).  That  is  to  say,  his 
knowledge  or  obedience  cannot  be  mechanical,  or 
independent  of  the  personality  of  God. 

Lastly,  in  this  connection,  the  physical,  psychical 
and  moral  constitution  of  man  is  of  that  plastic 
character  that,  ontologically  considered,  he  is  in  all 
these  respects,  capable  of  wondrous  degrees  of  de- 
velopment,  and    manifestation    of    character   and 


208  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

capacity,  specially  of  moral  good,  or  evil.  Such  is 
correspondent  with  his  position  and  character  as  a 
free  agent,  under  moral  accountability  to  his  Cre- 
ator. Also,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  knowledge,  necessary  to  a  virtuous  and 
holy  life,  are  few  and  simple.  The  ultimate  and 
controlling  force,  in  a  life  of  virtue  is  not,  necessa- 
rily, knowledge ;  that  is  to  say,  a  high  degree  of 
knowledge  ;  but  character,  or  moral  affection,  based 
upon  evidence ;  and  this  is  self-determined.  It  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  moral  evil  of  an  inveterate 
nature  opposes  man  in  his  way,  on  every  side,  both 
from  without,  and  from  within  ;  it  is  also  true  that 
supernatural  and  Divine  help,  as  provided  of  God, 
is  at  hand  to  succor  and  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
true-hearted. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts  of  man's  capacities  of 
body  and  soul,  and  of  the  known  moral  government 
of  God,  there  is  everything  to  commend  these  facts 
to  our  full  confidence  that,  in  all  places,  at  all  times, 
and  under  all  conditions  of  human  life,  "  Blessed  are 
all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  Him."  And,  as  "  He 
has  not  left  Himself  without  witness,"  at  any  time 
nor  in  any  part  of  the  world,  "  He  is  nigh  to  all  that 
call  upon  Him,  to  all  that  call  upon  Him  in  truth." 

At  this  point  it  is  apposite  to  compare  our  posi- 
tive conclusions  as  to  the  ontological  capacities  of 
conscience,  and  man's  responsibilities  because  of  it, 
with  the  negative  position  as  to  the  same  subject. 
Here   it   is  apparent  that  modern   pantheism   and 


THE   LAW   OF  CONSCIENCE  2<>9 

modern  materialism  are  in  juxtaposition.  The  pan- 
theistic theology  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  and  the  hypoth- 
esis of  evolution  is,  manifestly,  more  in  harmony 
with  materialism  as  to  the  differential  character  of 
the  human  soul,  as  related  to  animal  life,  than  it  is 
to  the  principles  of  Biblical  Theism  which  asserts  its 
immortality,  and  its  distinctive  generic  character,  as 
derived  from  the  immediate  hand  of  God.  It  is 
scarcely  possible,  upon  the  hypothesis  of  evolution, 
as  a  radical  and  absolute  law  of  the  universe,  and  as 
that  hypothesis  is  held  by  "  Lux  Mundi,"  to  dissoci- 
ate the  two  elements  of  man's  nature,  the  psychical 
and  the  corporal  in  the  application  of  that  hypoth- 
esis;  both  parts  of  man's  nature  must  be  the  sub- 
jects of  evolution,  as  a  force  in  nature.  As  I  have 
before  said,  logically,  such  a  principle  denies  a  per- 
sonal Creator,  but,  even  upon  that  incompatible 
principle  which  endeavors  to  reconcile  evolution 
with  the  Biblical  doctrine  of  Creation,  and  with  the 
principles  of  elementary  Theism,  and  allows  (as 
"Lux  Mundi  "  would  do),  that  a  personal  God  is  the 
author  and  Creator  of  the  "  atoms  "  out  of  which 
the  earth  is  "evolved"  and  also  of  the  protoplasm 
that  is  the  source  of  animal  life ;  nevertheless,  all 
the  teaching  of  "  Lux  Mundi "  goes  to  favor  (as  in- 
deed their  premise  requires  them  to  do)  the  notion 
that  man,  as  an  animal — the  whole  man — has  been 
"evolved"  from  the  brute  creation ;  consequently, 
they  do  not  hold  that  he  is  possessed,  ontologically, 
and   generically,  of   more   radical   and  distinctive 


210  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

qualities  and  capacities,  as  to  his  soul,  and  as  a  moral 
agent,  which  make  him,  by  the  law  of  his  creation 
and  the  hand  of  God,  both  subject  to  and  peculiarly 
capable  of  obedience  to  His  moral  law,  i.  e.,  onto- 
logically  considered.  In  other  words,  their  princi- 
ple of  evolution,  as  a  premise,  must  logically  affect 
their  doctrine  as  to  the  law  of  conscience,  and  the 
principles  of  Natural  Keligion — as  well  as  of 
Natural  Theology.  This,  too,  logically  accounts  for 
and  explains  why  it  is  that  both  Natural  Religion 
and  Natural  Theology  have  no  place,  actually  and 
practically,  in  their  system  ;  as  well  as  why  they 
endeavor  to  maintain  that  little  knowledge  of  God 
was  imparted  to  man  under  the  Old  Testament,  and 
especially  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  world. 

I  pass  on  now  to  consider  (2)  the  actual  cause  of 
ignorance  of  God,  as  a  subjective  quality. 

It  is  because  of  the  fact  of  man's  ontological  capac- 
ities and  moral  constitution,  and  also  because  of 
adequate  objective  knowledge,  universally  bestowed 
(although  in  different  degrees),  and  by  reason  of 
which  he  is  justly  responsible  to  his  Creator,  that 
ignorance  of  God  is,  everywhere,  in  the  Bible, 
treated  as  criminal,  and  chargeable  upon  man  as 
sin;  because  such  knowledge,  including  enjoyment 
of  God,  he  might  have  had, — moreover  it  was,  also, 
his  duty  to  seek. 

St.  Paul  said  of  the  Roman  world,  as  heathen, 
that  they  were  "without  excuse,"  that  (intellec- 
tually considered)  they  "knew  God,  yet  they  glori- 


THE   LAW   OF  CONSCIENCE  211 

fied  Him  not,  as  God,  neither  were  thankful."  That 
they  "did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowl- 
edge," and  that  while  they  knew  that  those  who 
lived  wicked  lives  were  "  worthy  of  death,"  yet 
they  "  not  only  did  the  same,  but  had  pleasure  in 
those  who  did  so." 

So  also  are  we  told  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  (6  :  12), 
that  "all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the 
earth."  We  are  led  to  infer  that  it  was  a  wilful 
act,  and  done  against  evidence. 

It  would  appear  by  some  to  be  tacitly  assumed 
that  the  wilfulness  of  sinners,  in  shutting  their  eyes 
to  light  is  something  peculiar  to  those  living  under 
Scripture  light,  specially  that  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, but  it  is  at  least  gratuitous  so  to  assume.  It 
rests  upon  a  false  conception  as  to  the  character 
and  force  of  Natural  Eeligion.  The  wilfulness  of 
sin  has  been  always  chargeable  upon  man.  This  is 
true,  notwithstanding  the  fact  of  a  developed  The- 
ism, under  the  Gospel.  The  ignorance  and  atheism 
of  the  Old  World,  as  condemned  of  God,  arose  from 
the  same  cause,  as  the  present  corruptions  of  Chris- 
tianity, by  false  philosophy,  and  "oppositions  of 
science,  falsely  so  called,"  have  arisen ;  that  of 
wilful  ignorance.  This  fact  has,  I  think  been  here- 
inbefore demonstrated  that,  apart  from  God's  in- 
spired Word,  man  was,  from  the  beginning  pos- 
sessed of  available  and  sufficient  knowledge  of  God. 
Also,  while  I  believe  the  fact  is  not  questioned,  it 
is,   as   a   fact,  capable   of   similar   proof   that   the 


212  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ontological  and  psychical  capacities  of  man,  in  rela- 
tion to  such  objective  knowledge  and  the  law  of 
conscience,  or  the  sense  of  moral  responsibility  is 
identical  with  what  we  are  now  possessed  of.  We 
may  cite,  here,  the  instance  of  Cain.  God's  appeal 
to  him  in  view  of  his  unrighteous  anger,  is  an 
appeal  to  his  consciousness,  as  well  as  to  his  in- 
tellect and  moral  sense,  acknowledging  truth  and 
right.  "Why  art  thou  wroth,  and  why  is  thy 
countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou 
not  be  accepted  ?  And  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin, 
(as  a  transgression  of  the  known  law  of  right)  lieth, 
or  croucheth  at  the  door"  (Gen.  6 :  7).  I  interpret 
it,  as  Gesenius  does,  as  meaning  that  so  lying,  or 
crouching,  it  will  inflict  its  own  punishment,  by 
moral  law.  So  also  we  may  cite  the  instance  of 
Abimelech,  King  of  Gerar.  There,  too,  God  ap- 
peals to  his  consciousness  of  the  nature  of  sin,  and 
of  its  just  results,  and  Abimelech  responds  to  it. 
He  pleads  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and  the  in- 
nocency  of  his  hands ;  and  God  in  like  manner,  as 
the  searcher  of  hearts,  acknowledges  his  integrity, 
and  accepts  his  plea. 

I  have  before  quoted  our  Lord's  words,  in  which 
He  appeals  to  what  Hooker  calls  the  second  Law 
Eternal,  viz.,  the  law  of  right,  and  man's  natural 
capacity  of  knowing  it,  "  Yea,  and  why,  even  of 
yourselves,  judge  ye  not  what  is  right?"  (Luke 
12:  57).  Our  Lord  frequently  appeals  to  the  same 
law.     "  The  light  that  is  in  thee," — "  take  heed  that 


THE  LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  213 

it  be  not  darkness  "  (Luke  11 :  35),  and  in  a  similar 
way  He  refers  to  objective  light,  and  Himself  as  its 
fulness.  "Walk,  while  ye  have  the  Light  with 
you  "  (John  12  :  25,  26). 

We  may  properly  infer  that  our  Lord  regarded 
the  objective,  and  subjective  law  as  universally,  and 
in  all  ages  present,  as  the  rule  for  the  governance  of 
man's  life ;  we  may  so  infer  from  its  language, 
before  quoted.  In  corroboration  of  this,  the  words 
of  Jeremiah  (13  :  15),  ma}^  apply,  "  Hear  ye,  and  give 
ear ;  be  not  proud,  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken.  Give 
glory  to  the  Lord  your  God  before  He  cause  dark- 
ness, and  before  your  feet  stumble  upon  the  dark 
mountains,  and  while  ye  look  for  light,  He  turn  it 
into  the  shadow  of  death,  and  make  it  gross 
darkness." 

In  short,  our  Lord's  express  language  informs  us 
that  while  a  greater  degree  of  knowledge,  if  sinned 
against,  shall  be  punished  with  "many  stripes,"  so, 
He  tells  us  that  a  lesser  degree  shall  be  sufficient  to 
make  man  culpable,  if  he  sins  against  it,  and  that 
he  shall  then  be  punished  with  "  few  stripes  " ;  so 
also  says  St.  Paul  (Kom.  2  :  6-13). 

All  our  experience  and  observation,  and  well  as 
the  concurrent  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture  goes  to 
shew  that  as  moral  blindness  is  the  result  of  a 
sinful  habit  of  life,  so,  the  ignorance  for  which  man 
will  be  punishable  and  punished,  hereafter,  is  an 
ignorance  which  he  has  wilfully  and  persistently 
chosen.     It  is  very  noticeable,  as  it  is  very  pertinent 


214  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

to  our  argument,  that  this  is  regarded  as  an  axiom 
in  all  the  discourses  of  Job,  and  his  friends,  viz., 
that  at  that  day,  as  God  was  knowable,  so,  sin 
against  Him  was  inexcusable,  and  worthy  of  pun- 
ishment. We  are  justified  in  declaring  that  our 
Lord  intended  to  assert  an  absolute  and  invariable 
moral  law  when  He  said,  "  Every  one  that  doeth 
evil,  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light, 
lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved,  but  he  that  doeth 
truth  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds  may  be 
made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God " 
(John  3  :  20,  21).  We  thus  conclude  that  the  blind- 
ness of  conscience  present  with  polytheists  was  not 
a  result  of  uncertain,  or  inadequate  means  of  objec- 
tive knowledge  of  God,  but,  that  their  intellectual, 
as  well  as  their  moral  perception,  "  their  foolish 
heart,"  as  St.  Paul  terms  it,  was  defiled  and  dark- 
ened, by  their  following,  as  Hooker  states,  the  law 
of  passion,  rather  than  the  law  of  reason,  and  what 
was  peculiarly  given  them  of  God  for  the  guidance 
of  human  life. 

We  have  considered  (1)  the  capacities,  and,  so,  the 
sufficiency  of  the  subjective  law  of  conscience,  as 
exercised  upon  the  objective  evidences  of  God's 
character  and  will,  apart  from  an  inspired  and 
written  law.  Herein  I  have  had  regard,  chiefly,  to 
the  ontological  and  psychical  qualities  of  the  human 
soul,  as  capable  of  assimilating  and  appropriating 
truth  and  knowledge,  both  of  an  intellectual  and 
moral  character,  concerning  God  and  His  will. 


THE  LAW   OF  CONSCIENCE  215 

(2)  I  have  endeavored  to  shew  that  personal  and 
subjective  ignorance  of  God  is,  in  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances,  a  moral  result  of  disobe- 
dience to  the  law  given  of  God  to  govern  human 
life  and  action,  i.  e.,  the  law  of  reason  as  contrasted 
with  that  of  passion  and  sinful  appetite.  It  is  now 
fitting  to  state  the  mandatory  power  of  conscience, 
or  its  authority  to  govern  men.  (3)  As  addressed 
to  moral  agents,  by  a  moral  governor  who  is,  in 
Himself,  the  centre  and  source  of  law,  this  manda- 
tory power  is  based  upon  truth  and  knowledge,  and, 
as  it  is  the  truth  and  knowledge  concerning  God 
Himself,  as  Creator,  and  Benefactor,  it  is  the  knowl 
edge  of  right  and  wrong.  This  truth  is  presented 
to  and  acquired  by  an  inherent  and  ontological  fac- 
ulty of  moral  consciousness,  which  responds  on 
God's  behalf  within  us,  and  with  an  indisputable 
authority,  enforces  the  claims  of  such  truth  upon  us, 
and  says  we  ought  to  do  it.  It  speaks  in  no  uncer- 
tain tones,  of  duty,  and,  while  it  does  not  compel 
the  action  of  the  will,  it  warns  and  admonishes  and 
it  promises,  according  to  the  action  that  is  taken 
upon  the  evidence  given,  objectively  and  generally 
and  subjectively  and  personally,  and,  so,  sealed 
with  the  responsibility  of  personal  relationship  to 
the  soul  of  the  individual  man.  What  I  have  to  as- 
sert, and  to  maintain,  in  this  connection,  is  that  in 
both  these  aspects,  (1)  as  to  the  capacities  of  con- 
science, intellectually  and  morally  considered,  and 
(2)  as  to  its  mandatory  power  and  authority  to  hold 


216  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

man  responsible,  the  evidence  given,  anterior  to  rev- 
elation, is  deficient  in  no  element  essential  to  The- 
ism, and  to  the  just  judgment  of  God  over  man,  as 
a  fallen  being,  and  under  probation  for  a  future 
life.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  that,  while  the  recip- 
rocal influence  of  all  man's  moral  faculties  is 
charged  with  the  evidences  objectively  declaring, 
and  revealing  God's  character,  and  will,  and  that 
those  evidences  (hereinbefore  considered)  are  of  a 
most  pervasive  character,  the  self-determining 
power  of  man's  will  is  declared  and  magnified, 
as  it  is,  progressively,  and  ultimately,  exercised 
upon  such  evidences,  not  only  now,  under  a  revealed 
and  written  Word,  and  a  published  and  preached 
gospel,  but  under  the  law  of  Natural  Theology,  and 
its  concomitant  evidences,  anterior  to  the  Mosaic 
law  and  ritual,  and  to  Christianity. 

I  shall  now  contrast  the  conclusions  I  have  ar- 
rived at  as  to  the  principles  of  Elementary  Theism, 
with  the  New  Theodicy,  having  for  its  basis  the  hy- 
pothesis of  evolution.  In  that  theodicy,  Natural 
Theology  and  Natural  Keligion  have,  practically, 
no  place;  there  is,  in  them,  supposed  to  be  no  The- 
istic  evidence,  So,  also,  in  the  supernatural  evi- 
dences we  have,  hitherto,  considered  ;  they  also  are 
ignored.  The  primitive  conceptions  of  God, — as 
required  by  their  premises — are  assumed  to  be  in 
favor  of  polytheism.  The  nature  of  God,  as  an  ob- 
jective truth  is,  so  "  evolved "  from  polytheistic 
conceptions,  and  is  so  treated.     The  inspired  Word, 


THE  LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  217 

as  a  revelation  from  God,  is  actually  "  fused  "  in 
this  theodicy,  with  the  speculations  of  philosophic 
moralists,  and  regarded  as  one  with  philosophy,  and 
what  are  assumed  to  be  scientific  and  intellectual 
truths,  in  general ;  and  experts  and  specialists  in 
these  departments  are  regarded  as  inspired. 

Faith  in  God,  and  in  revealed  truth  ;  that  is  to 
say  in  Bible  truth,  is  necessarily  mutable,  as  it  de- 
clares the  faith  of  the  church,  because,  both  objec- 
tively and  subjectively  it  is  in  a  state  of  constant 
evolution.  As  it  is  essential  to  the  hypothesis  of 
evolution,  as  applied  to  Theology,  to  depreciate  the 
evidence  from  Natural  Theology,  and  from  Natural 
Religion,  so  is  it  also  necessary  to  their  hypothesis 
to  belittle  the  Old  Testament,  as  a  revelation  from 
God ;  and,  therefore,  to  base  all  definite  and  dog- 
matic teaching  upon  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
Incarnation.  Also,  as  these  sources  of  Theistic 
knowledge  are  belittled,  so,  also,  in  conformity  with 
the  hypothesis  of  cosmical  development,  and  the 
assumption  that  man  was  "  evolved  "  from  an  ape, 
primitive  man  must  have  had  not  only  a  very  in- 
ferior intellect,  but  also  very  little  power  of  moral 
perception,  or  conscience.  Thus  objective  and  sub- 
jective ignorance,  in  the  early  history  of  the  world, 
is  made  to  square  with  the  theory  of  evolution. 
On  this  principle  we  can  account  for  the  judgment 
of  Mr.  Illingworth  who  says  ("  Lux  Mundi,"  pp. 
168-69),  "  Then  there  is  the  rash  orthodoxy  that 
is  over  eager  to  accept  any  result  that  tallies  with 


218  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

its  own  preconceived  opinion ;  as  for  instance  that 
belief  in  primitive  monotheism.  No  doubt  several 
very  competent  authorities  think  that  the  present 
evidence  points  in  that  direction,  but  a  majority  of 
critics,  equally  competent,  think  otherwise."  No 
doubt,  upon  the  preconceived  theory  of  evolution, 
Mr.  Illing worth  so  concludes,  but,  in  antithesis  to 
this  theory,  we  hold,  as  orthodox  Theists,  the  reason- 
able faith  of  a  primitive  monotheism.  We  hold  to 
the  statement  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  "  God  made 
man  unright,  but  they  have  sought  out  many  inven- 
tions." And  we  are,  in  so  doing,  supported  by 
ample  evidence  that  an  objective  and  declared 
monotheism  was  the  primitive  and  universal  creed 
of  mankind,  and  so  held  until  man  had  "  corrupted 
his  way  upon  the  earth,"  and  darkened  his  reason, 
by  wilful  disobedience  thereunto,  as  unto  the  law 
given  him  of  God  to  govern  his  life ;  as  Hooker, 
Aristotle,  St,  Augustine,  and  Plato  have  declared 
(Hooker,  Book  II,  Ch.  8,  sec.  6,  7,  8,  9). 

Although  there  has,  as  ordained  of  God,  been  a 
law  of  progression,  and  development  of  theistic 
evidences,  and  of  a  primitive  monotheism  ;  and  a 
correspondingly  increased  moral  obligation,  accom- 
panying such  development,  we  deny  in  toto  the 
premises  of  cosmical  evolution,  as  the  radical  law 
of  creation,  with  the  evolution  of  man,  physical 
and  psychical ;  and  also  the  false  and  essentially 
atheistic  principle  underlying  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion, and  so  declared  in  the  disloyal  and  destructive 


THE  LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  219 

theodicy  by  which  not  only  is  the  Old  Testament, 
as  a  revelation  from  God,  belittled,  but,  also,  the 
teaching  of  our  Divine  Lord  is,  to  say  the  least,  ir- 
reverently and  injuriously  misstated  and  detracted 
from. 

Finally,  to  summarize  the  evidences  we  have  hith- 
erto considered, — and  the  results. 

I  think  it  may  be  said  we  have  had  complete 
proof  that  God  has  given  to  man — apart  from  the 
written  law  of  Holy  Scripture — in  the  mediate 
revelations  afforded  in  His  works  in  nature  and  also 
in  and  by  the  immediate  and  supernatural  revela- 
tions of  His  Divine  personality  which  He  has 
vouchsafed  to  mankind,  ample  evidence  to  instruct 
man,  as  a  moral  agent,  and  ample  encouragement  to 
those  who  would  sincerely  seek  Him.  We  may 
say,  however,  that  God's  requirement  of  man  is  one 
that  is  highly  rational,  highly  necessary  and  just, 
as  it  is  both  a  simple  and  a  moral  requirement. 
"He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is." 
The  evidence  does  not  and  cannot — sufficient  though 
it  be — compel  belief,  yet  it  both  justifies  it  and, 
also,  requires  it. 

There  is,  besides,  another  requirement,  equally 
necessary,  and  indispensable.  This  is,  that  he  shall 
"diligently  seek  Him."  To  such  He  is  a  rewarder ; 
but  to  such,  only.  The  seeking  that  is  requisite 
must  engage  the  whole  man  ;  all  his  moral  faculties. 
The  object  is  worthy  of  them  all.  This  require- 
ment obtains  in  all  ages,  and  under  all  conditions. 


220  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

We  may  see  that  the  determinative  quality,  and, 
so,  that  which  is  assimilative — which  by  act  and 
habit  forms  human  character,  and  shapes  human 
destiny,  fixes  the  responsibility  of  the  individual 
man  ;  because,  under  the  conditions  of  human  sin- 
fulness, or  bias  to  sin,  supernatural  and  personal  aid 
has  always  been  present  and  available  to  help  man  in 
obeying  the  law  of  his  being,  i.  e.,  the  law  of  reason, 
as  sustained  and  emphasized  by  supernatural  evi- 
dences. It  is  further  to  be  considered  (and  this 
fact  I  desire  to  emphasize)  that  it  is  the  action  of 
conscience,  and  of  the  determinative  faculty  that 
stamps  character.  The  argument  of  St.  Paul  in 
the  thirteenth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Bo- 
mans,  in  reference  to  eating  of  meat  that  had  been 
offered  to  idols,  may,  I  think,  be  held  to  be  appli- 
cable, absolutely,  and  universally,  as  defining  the 
power  and  authority  of  the  law  of  conscience,  and 
also  as  declaring  that  the  action  taken  internally  in 
the  inner  chamber  of  the  soul,  is  the  criterion  of 
character  and  final  rule  of  God's  judgment.  Con- 
science indeed  (though  never  independent  of  ob- 
jective evidence)  is,  after  all,  the  controlling  factor 
in  human  life,  and  of  its  future  results  in  the  great 
hereafter. 

Admit — as  we  must  and  do — the  great  value  of 
objective  truth,  in  regard  to  the  measure  of  such 
evidences,  it  is  not  the  measure  or  the  excellency 
thereof  that  is  the  preponderating  or  controlling 
force  in  forming  man's  moral  character.     This  is,  I 


THE  LAW  OF  CONSCIENCE  221 

think,  an  undoubted  fact,  although  it  is,  in  general 
too  little  apprehended.  The  all-wise  government  of 
God  has  so  ordered  the  moral  economy  of  this  world 
in  which  we  live,  that  under  the  most  disadvanta- 
geous conditions  none  should  be  left  without  wit- 
ness, or  evidence  in  all  that  is  actually  essential  to 
guide  and  to  govern  him,  so  that  he  may  pass 
through  and  out  of  a  world  of  moral  trial,  in  a 
state  of  moral  and  spiritual  fitness,  as  a  free,  re- 
sponsible and  tried  moral  agent,  for  a  future  and 
blessed  life  in  the  presence  of  God ;  and  this  result 
is  not  governed  by  the  degree  of  objective  evi- 
dences. 

There  is  a  necessary  minimum  of  such  evidence, 
and  this  minimum  is,  in  no  case,  wanting.  The 
moral  agency  of  the  individual  is,  in  every  case,  a 
prime  factor.  "  There  is  no  difference  between  the 
Jew  and  the  Greek  ;  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich 
unto  all  that  call  upon  Him  "  (Rom.  10 :  12). 


Appendix 


CHAPTER  I 
Note  A 

Negative  Argument  for  the  Personality  of  God 

The  argument  against  modern  philosophic  the- 
ories, or  u  Naturalism,"  is  well  stated  by  Mr.  Balfour 
in  Part  I,  and  Part  II  of  his  book,  "  Foundations 
of  Belief."  Mr.  Balfour  recognizes,  at  the  outset, 
that  the  subject  involves,  not  alone  the  intellect, 
but  the  moral  nature  of  man.  He  shews  that  the 
results  of  the  naturalistic  philosophy  include  only 
material  and  physical  law,  and  that  conscience  and 
moral  law  are  ignored  and  virtue  denied.  Further, 
that  by  this  process  of  argument  there  can  be  no 
combination  of  biology,  and  ethics.  He  also  shews 
that  "naturalism,"  practically  denies  free-will,  and, 
so,  human  responsibility. 

In  relation  to  aesthetics,  Mr.  Balfour  shews  that 
naturalism,  or  mechanical  materialistic  philosophy 
gives  no  adequate  explanation  of  this  quality  of  the 
human  soul,  by  which  it  apprehends  and  appreciates 
the  beautiful.  There  is  no  intrinsic  and  essential 
quality  of  beauty  by  which  it  can  be,  so,  philosoph- 

223 


•224:  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL  LAW 

ically  demonstrated,  and,  such  an  apprehension  can 
only  be  by  a  faculty  of  the  human  mind.  It  can- 
not be  independent  of  the  taste  of  the  observer. 
As  to  music,  advance  in  the  art  and  science  of 
music  does  not  entail  advance  in  the  effects  pro- 
duced by  it.  As  to  taste  in  dress,  the  natural  tend- 
ency to  agreement  consequent  herein  tends  to  form 
both  taste  and  habit  in  all  minor  things ;  while  in 
the  higher  relations  of  thought,  the  sense  of  beauty 
must  find  another  source  and  original— its  prime 
origin  is  to  be  found  in  God.  It  is  a  just  intuition 
of  the  human  mind  that  coordinates  the  true,  the 
beautiful  and  the  good. 

I  give  a  quotation  on  this  point.  "However 
little,  therefore,  we  may  be  prepared  to  accept  any 
particular  scheme  of  metaphysical  aesthetics,  and 
most  of  them  appear  to  me  very  absurd,  we  must 
believe  that  somewhere,  and  for  some  Being,  there 
shines  an  unchanging  splendor  of  beauty,  of  which 
in  nature,  and  in  art  we  see,  each  of  us  from  our 
own  standpoint,  only  passing  gleams  and  stray  re- 
flections, whose  different  aspects  we  cannot  now 
coordinate,  whose  import  we  cannot  fully  compre- 
hend, but  which,  at  least,  is  something  other  than 
the  chance  play  of  subjective  sensibility,  or  the  far- 
off  echo  of  ancestral  lusts.  No  such  mystical  creed 
can,  however,  be  squeezed  out  of  observation  and 
experience  ;  science  cannot  give  it  us  ;  nor  can  it 
be  forced  into  any  sort  of  consistency  with  the 
naturalistic  theory  of  the  universe  "  (pp.  65,  66). 


APPENDIX  225 

Mr.  Balfour  summarizes  the  results  of  naturalism, 
as  a  system,  as  follows, — "  If  naturalism  be  the 
whole  truth,  then  is  morality  but  a  bare  catalogue 
of  utilitarian  precepts,  beauty  the  chance  occasion 
of  passing  pleasure,  reason  but  the  dim  passage 
from  one  set  of  unthinking  habits  to  another  "  (p.  77). 

It  is  here  to  be  observed  that  the  idea  of  the 
beautiful,  as  an  objective  entity,  and  necessary  to 
the  human  mind,  goes  to  shew  that  man  is  onto- 
logically,  as  well  as  with  reference  to  moral  quali- 
ties of  his  nature,  made  in  the  image  of  God,  and 
this  correlation  of  his  distinctive  ontological  be- 
ing to  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  Divine 
personality,  are  facts  which  are  clearly  at  variance 
with  the  theory  of  evolution,  as  held  by  materialis- 
tic writers  of  the  present  day. 

In  Part  II  Mr.  Balfour  shews  that  naturalism,  as 
a  system,  has,  and  can  have  no  philosophic  basis. 
According  to  naturalism,  experience  is  necessary  in 
order  to  certainty,  but  a  system  for  the  universe 
cannot  rest,  philosophically,  on  an  individual  basis. 
Also,  there  is  no  absolute  uniformity  in  nature,  and 
there  can  be  no  universal  law  of  causation.  There 
is,  therefore,  no  philosophic  certitude  possible  to 
naturalism.  In  relation  to  authority,  and  reason, 
Mr.  Balfour  says  of  the  traditional  belief  of  Eight 
and  Wrong,  as  summarizing  morality,  that  it  is 
"  beyond  individual  criticism  "  ;  so  also,  "  The  moral 
sense  of  mankind  indicates  the  existence  of  absolute 
authority." 


226  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Moreover  naturalism  makes  no  provision  for  the 
ethical  part  of  man's  nature.  It  must,  however,  be 
said  that  while  the  negative  argument  of  Mr.  Bal- 
four is  entirely  satisfactory  and  logically  sound,  the 
same  cannot  be  said  of  the  constructive,  or  positive 
part  of  his  book ;  and  in  passing  from  the  negative 
to  the  positive  he  does  not  logically  proceed  to 
argue  from  the  premises  which  he  has  established  ; 
the  proper  outcome  of  which  should  be, — not  a 
scheme  of  "  provisional  philosophy," — apparently 
upon  the  basis  of  evolution  as  a  universal  law,  and 
subjective  in  character,  but  the  great,  primary  and 
objective  truth  of  the  personality  of  God. 


Note  B 

Positive  Argument  for  the  Personality  of  God 

We  have  seen,  in  the  epitome  given  of  Part  I  and 
Part  II  of  Mr.  Balfour's  book,  that  the  works  of 
nature,  and  man's  ontological  qualities,  as  an  in- 
tegral part  of  nature,  do  not  bear  out  and  justify 
the  naturalistic  hypothesis  of  a  universal  law  of  de- 
velopment as  the  law  of  nature ;  and,  specially  that 
such  naturalistic  hypothesis  makes  no  recognition 
of  the  ethical  part  of  man's  ontological  qualities.  I 
shall,  now,  epitomize  some  of  the  positive  evidence 
for  a  personal  Creator,  as  source  and  origin  of  the 
universe.     For  this  purpose   I  choose,  chiefly,  the 


APPENDIX  227 

salient  points,  or  some  of  them,  contained  in  the 
Duke  of  Argyle's  work,  "The  Unity  of  Nature." 

A  main  and  a  comprehensive  truth  introductory 
to  the  subject  is  found  in  the  fact  that,  under  multi- 
form laws,  we  are  able  to  trace  a  universal  and  a 
perfect  adaptation  of  means  to  a  particular  end. 
In  reference  to  inorganic  nature,  the  author  shews 
that  there  is,  often,  a  relation  of  one  law  to  another, 
although  that  relation  is,  more  or  less  obscure. 
Such  are  the  relations  of  ether  to  radiant  heat,  to 
chemical  affinity,  and  also  to  galvanism  and  elec- 
tricity. So  of  the  laws  of  sound.  It  is  probably  true 
that,  as  ether  is  intimately,  although  obscurely,  re- 
lated to  the  former  elements,  that  it  is  so  related  to 
sound.  The  same  may  be  said  to  be  true  of  solar 
light.  These  are  separate  and  separable  forces,  yet 
capable  of  chemical  affinity.  In  relation  to  organic 
nature,  a  second  and  a  salient  truth  is  to  be  noticed, 
i.  e.,  that  protoplasm  does  not  represent  or  explain 
life,  as  a  separate  force  ;  it  only,  represents  the 
modus-opera ndi  of  life.  Further,  man  is  included  in 
the  unity  of  nature,  in  the  element  of  his  body,  and 
in  the  one  principle  of  life,  as  before  stated.  Con- 
cerning animal  instinct  as  related  to  the  mind  of 
man,  there  is,  in  such  instinct,  a  perfect  adjustment, 
a  mechanism  adapting  means  to  end,  but,  in  their 
case,  it  is  unconscious  obedience  to  law.  Animal 
instinct  is  not  derived  from  experience  ;  it  is  innate 
and  hereditary.  It  is  what  it  always  was  ;  it  is  not 
evolved,   but   Divinely   created.     All   emotions   of 


228  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

man  are  present  in  animals,  except  thought  or  rea- 
son. Purpose,  also,  belongs  to  organic  movements 
of  animals,  but  it  is  outside  of  themselves.  In  man 
there  is  a  combination  of  reason  and  intuitive  ani- 
mal instinct ;  so  the  author  considers.  It  is,  per- 
haps, more  correct  to  say  that  there  is  an  analogy 
between  the  intuition  of  animals  and  the  intuition 
of  man,  generally  ;  but,  specially,  with  regard  to 
the  animal  part  of  his  nature,  where  his  reason  is 
not  sensibly  called  into  exercise. 

In  regard  to  the  distinctive  ontological  character 
of  man's  being,  several  things  are  to  be  considered. 

(1)  Man  is  conscious  of  his  own  limitations ;  also 
we  can  understand  the  limitations  of  the  irrational 
creatures,  and  we  know  the  nature  of  their  desires. 

(2)  There  is  an  evident  contrast  between  man  and 
the  animals  in  this,  i.  e.,  that  the  desires  of  the 
rational  creature  are,  here,  never  fully  satisfied. 
In  regard  to  man,  as  he  is  related  to  the  Divine 
Author  of  his  being,  (a)  our  finite  mental  capacities 
give  us  not  merely  a  sense  of  abstract  infinity,  but, 
also,  of  an  Infinite  Being;  (b)  the  correlation  of 
matter  and  force  suggests  the  same  truth,  i.  e.,  not 
only  of  infinite  power,  but  also  of  an  Omnipotent 
Being;  (c)  the  human  mind,  as  an  integral  part  of 
nature,  as  a  system,  enables  man  under  its  laws  to 
receive  and  to  interpret  objective  evidence  in  nature 
(Isaiah  23  :  28  adfinem).  The  laws  of  the  human 
mind  are  in  harmony  with  the  unity  of  nature.  The 
order  of   thought  under   which    the   human    mind 


APPENDIX  229 

renders  intelligible  to  itself  all  the  phenomena  of 
the  universe,  is  not  an  order  that  invents,  but  an 
order,  simply,  that  feels  and  sees.  In  relation  to  the 
moral  capacities  of  man,  the  supreme  faculties 
of  the  mind  stand  related  to  purpose, — in  ourselves 
and  in  others. 

The  understanding  of  man,  as  related  to  ends  ; 
and  the  moral  sense  as  it  recognizes  the  law  of 
righteousness,  and  the  ultimate  authority  on  which 
it  rests.  Bishop  Butler,  in  his  sermon  on  "the 
ignorance  of  man,"  says  that  the  highest  degree  of 
knowledge  attainable  by  man  is  "  the  author,  the 
means  and  the  end  in  the  system  of  nature."  The 
intelligibility  of  nature  is  coextensive  with  the 
whole  range  of  man's  intelligence,  the  higher  and 
the  lower ;  those  which  perceive  the  reason  of 
things  must  be  included,  as  well  as  those  which  per- 
ceive their  causes,  merely. 

It  is  true  indeed  that  this  perception  does  not 
reach  the  rank  of  an  ultimate  truth,  for  the  simple 
reason  that,  high  as  the  faculties  are  which  require 
the  reason  of  a  thing,  there  are  other  faculties 
which  seek  to  know  where  that  reason, — that  Logos 
— is  seated,  and  where  the  place  of  its  habitation. 
In  relation  to  the  "  atom "  of  modern  science,  a 
contrast  is  suggested  with  it  and  the  atom  of  the 
ancients.  Prof.  Clarke  Maxwell,  following  up  the 
dictum  of  Sir  G.  Herschel,  says  that  "  each  molecule 
throughout  the  universe  bears  impressed  upon  it 
the  stamp  of  a  metric  system,  as  distinctly  as  does 


230  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  meter  of  the  archives  at  Paris,  or  the  double 
royal  cubit  of  the  Temple  at  Carnac." 

The  Duke  of  Argyle  mentions  the  fact  that  the 
chemical  combinations  that  man  can  effect  in  the 
inorganic  kingdom  of  nature  are  artificial  in  char- 
acter, while  living  organisms,  alone,  represent 
chemical  affinity.  "  Chemical  combinations  of  the 
organic  can  only  exist  in  living  beings."  Chemical 
composition  is  one  thing,  and  organic  structure  is 
another.  There  is  a  radical  difference  between 
chemical  combinations  effected  by  nature  in  living 
organisms,  and  chemical  composition  in  the  organic 
world.  Every  animal  organism  is  structure  through 
and  through.  "  Its  whole  substance,  and,  as  it 
were,  its  whole  essence  is  structure  and  nothing- 
else."  The  Duke  illustrates  the  difficulties  of  the 
hypothesis  of  evolution,  from  the  case  of  the 
chrysalis  and  the  butterfly,  showing  that  this  does 
not  harmonize  with  the  rudimentary  theory  as  to 
organs  for  future  use.  "  Also,  there  is  here  no 
struggle  for  existence,  and  no  development  of 
germ."  Yet,  as  he  says,  and  as  says  also  Sir  Win. 
Dawrson,  Creation  and  Evolution  are  not  mutually 
exclusive,  but  harmonious  and  complimentary,  i.  e., 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  an  absolute  and  universal 
law  of  evolution  in  nature. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  origin  of  nil 
things  is  wrell  stated  as  follows, — "Under  whatever 
cloud  of  words  men  may  endeavor  to  conceal  it,  our 
recognition  of  this  universal  fact  and  law  in  the 


APPENDIX  231 

genesis  of  organic  functions  is  the  recognition  of 
mind  by  mind  ;  the  recognition  by  the  human  mind 
of  operations  which  are  intelligible  to  it  only  be- 
cause they  are  operations  having  a  close  analogy 
with  its  own."  Hence,  he  argues,  very  properly, 
that  mind  in  man  represents  the  supernatural,  or  is 
the  creative  work  of  God. 

Against  the  proposition  of  materialism,  which 
would  exclude  man  from  the  unity  of  nature,  the 
testimony  of  Professor  Agassiz  is  quoted,  who  says, 
"  The  truth  is  that  life  has  all  the  wealth  and  en- 
dowment of  the  most  comprehensive  mental  man- 
ifestations and  none  of  the  simplicity  of  physical 
phenomena."  These  considerations  shew,  first,  that 
as  the  human  mind  is  the  highest  created  thing  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge,  its  conceptions  of 
what  is  greatest,  in  the  highest  degree,  must  be 
founded  on  what  it  knows  to  be  the  greatest  and 
highest,  in  itself  ;  and  secondly,  that  we  have  no 
difficulty  in  understanding  how  this  image  of  the 
Highest  may  and  must  be  faint,  without  being  at 
all  unreal  or  untrue "  ("  Unity  of  Nature,"  pp. 
155-56).  Also, "  All  we  know,  and  all  the  processes  of 
thought  by  which  this  knowledge  is  acquired,  in- 
volve and  imply  the  truth  that  our  mind  is,  indeed, 
made  in  some  real  sense  in  the  image  of  God, 
although  intellectually  its  powers  are  very  limited, 
and  morally  its  condition  is  very  low  "  (p.  186). 

I  add  some  remarks  from  the  same  author  as  to 
the  moral  qualities  of  man.     First,  he  shews  that 


232  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

there  is  a  correlation  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
faculties.  The  desire  for  knowledge  is  innate  in 
man,  also,  the  sense  of  ignorance,  and,  in  some  de- 
gree, the  sense  of  unworthiness.  The  sense  of 
ignorance,  though  necessary,  and  defining  man's 
place  in  nature,  is  negative;  the  sense  of  unworth- 
iness is  positive.  The  sense  of  right  and  wrong  is 
innate  in  man  ;  so  also  of  responsibility.  "  I  ought," 
is  incapable  of  analysis  and  reduction.  It  is  simple 
and  inherent.  Conscience,  or  the  mandatory 
faculty  in  conscience,  is  concurrent  with  and  inter- 
dependent with  other  faculties  of  the  soul,  as  mem- 
ory and  understanding."  The  author  shews  that 
all  relative  and  human  authority,  parental,  social, 
civil,  and  religious,  has  its  seat  and  original  in  the 
personality  of  God,  and  that  all  relations  of  life,  as 
well  as  every  part  of  the  system  of  nature,  are 
permeated  by  a  Supreme  Mind,  and  by  a  Supreme 
Authority. 

I  have  thus  epitomized  that  portion  of  the  Duke 
of  Argyle's  admirable  book  which  bears  directly  on 
Natural  Theology,  and  a  Personal  Creator,  evi- 
denced in  nature.  There  are  other  parts  of  it  which  I 
have  not  referred  to.  I  would  also  notice  that  the 
thoroughly  logical  essay  of  the  late  Principal  Tul- 
loch  of  Aberdeen,  on  Theism,  starts  from  the  same 
premises,  i.  e.,  Mind  in  Nature  as  evidencing  Crea- 
tive Mind.  He  logically  follows  the  evidence 
through  inorganic  and  organic  nature  and  makes 
all  to  culminate  in   the  moral  intuitions  of  man  ; 


APPENDIX  233 

evidence  that  modern  science  does  not  regard  as  an 
entity  ! 

Materialists  of  this  kind  who  bely  or  degrade 
the  moral  sense  in  man,  often  decry  what  they  call 
anthropomorphism ;  they,  themselves,  manifest  an 
anthropomorphism  of  a  most  absurd  and  indisput- 
able character,  when  they  deify  the  dim  light 
of  intellectualism,  and  exclude  not  only  moral 
sense  and  obligation,  and  moral  affection,  but  also 
what  is  peculiarly  the  ego,  characteristic  of  man, 
i.  e.,  the  will  power.  In  such  conceptions  of  the 
primary  good  and  origin  of  all  things,  man,  in  so 
judging  of  the  Supreme  Cause,  not  only  judges  of 
Him  by  himself,  but  he  takes  an  ex-parte  view  of 
his  own  nature  as  it  is  a  true  witness  to  the  Divine 
handiwork,  as  it  is  to  the  Divine  perfection  and 
personality.  It  may  be  said  that  the  correlation  of 
nature  and  the  human  mind  is  self-evident.  It  is 
only  mind  in  man,  that  enables  him  to  trace  mind 
in  nature  by  analogy  of  his  own  highest  and  most 
distinctive  experience  and  ontological  qualities. 
These  not  only  enable  him  to  see  mind  in  nature, 
but  they  direct  him  to  the  necessary  fact  that  he  is, 
himself,  within  the  unity  of  nature,  as  it  discloses  a 
Personality  who  is  the  author  of  it  all.  More  than 
this ;  these  premises  which  establish  an  all-perfect 
Personality,  include  in  that  Personality  all  the  fac- 
ulties found  in  man  as  a  self-conscious  being.  Thus, 
our  modern  philosophers  are  illogical  and  unphilo- 
sophical  when  they  reason  from  ex-parte  premises. 


234  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

As  the  ethical  part  of  man's  nature  is  not  ac- 
counted for  satisfactorily  upon  utilitarian  principles, 
and  as  the  human  mind  includes  moral  qualities,  as 
an  element  of  its  being  which  finds  its  comple- 
mentum  in,  and  is  finally  represented  by  the  will, 
as  the  Ego,  so,  by  a  just  inference  and  analogy  they 
must,  in  argument,  admit  the  absolute  authority 
and  Supreme  Will,  as  the  legitimate  and  true  ex- 
pression of  the  Supreme  Mind.  We  may  thus 
arrive  at  a  correct  estimate  of  the  place  of  miracles 
in  the  economy  of  God's  government  of  the  uni- 
verse. It  is  only  by  an  ex-parte  pantheistic  and 
mechanical  interpretation  of  nature  that  we  can 
deny  the  fact  or  possibility  of  miracles.  The  ma- 
terialist points  to  the  inexorable  character  of  law, 
in  nature ;  the  necessity  and  inviolability  of  law,  so 
far  as  man  can  trace  or  understand  it,  is  not  abso- 
lute, but  relative. 

A  supreme  mind  involves  not  only  infinite  and 
perfect  wisdom  and  power  in  the  formulation  of 
law,  and  which  as  the  source  of  law  cannot  be 
traced  by  the  finite  intelligence  to  the  final  cause, 
by  the  sequences  of  nature,  but,  as  it  includes  all 
ethical  qualities,  so  also  it  includes  a  supreme  and 
determinating  will  that  is  correlated  to  all  the  other 
elements  and  attributes  of  His  being,  in  perfect 
unity  of  character,  as  well  as  perfectness  of  rela- 
tion ;  and,  so,  adjudges  and  determines  His  actions 
and  His  government  of  the  universe,  not  necessarily, 
or  mechanically,  but  freely  and  absolutely,  accord- 


APPENDIX  285 

ing  to  the  freedom  and  transcendence  of  His  per- 
sonality and  supreme  perfections.  Mr.  Proctor, 
author  of  "  Other  Worlds  Than  Ours,1'  seems  to 
leave  this  out  of  view  when  he  argues  that  an  all- 
perfect  Mind,  as  He  knows  all  the  past  and  all  the 
future,  could  or  should  ordain  perfect  laws  which 
would  not  require  His  personal  intervention.  This 
is  illogical  reasoning.  Not  only  may  the  sovereign 
and  all-perfect  will  of  the  Creator  properly  ordain 
otherwise,  as  His  sovereign  and  perfect  knowledge 
and  judgment  of  all  the  facts  may  see  it  good  to 
do,  and  as  His  all-perfect  power  enables  Him  to  do, 
but — from  the  highest  analogy  that  we  can  make 
the  basis  of  our  estimate  of  the  Supreme  Good — 
His  Supreme  Personality  should,  we  may  reverently 
say,  so  express  itself  in  the  exercise  of  that  all-per- 
fect will,  and  in  its  manifestation  to  all  His  universe, 
declaring,  thereby  His  ineffable  and  supreme  per- 
fections. 

I  here  subjoin  the  latest  deliverance  of  science  on 
the  subject  of  the  Origin  or  Prime  Cause  of  all 
things.  Lord  Kelvin,  the  president,  at  this  date,  of 
the  British  Association  for  the  advancement  of 
science  has  given  an  official  deliverance  in  the  form 
of  a  protest,  and  in  the  name  of  science,  against 
what  he  designates  as  "  Scientific  Atheism."  The 
immediate  outcome,  from  a  literary  and  theological 
standpoint,  of  Lord  Kelvin's  deliverance  is  concisely 
summarized  in  an  article  in  the  London  Tablet ;  and 
for  this  reason  I  give  it  verbatim,  with  a  few  intro- 


236  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

ductory  remarks.  This  utterance  of  Lord  Kelvin's 
is  a  sufficient,  as  it  is  an  authoritative  utterance  by 
one  who  has  a  legitimate  title  to  speak  in  the 
name,  and  on  the  behalf  of  science ;  and  his  utter- 
ance may  properly  be  described  as  explosive  of  the 
hypothesis  of  Cosmical  Evolution,  and  by  conse- 
quence, and  at  the  same  time  of  the  so-called  The- 
ological System  of  "  Lux  Muncli,"  which  is  based  upon 
Evolution,  because  it,  again,  declares  the  basis  of 
the  hypothesis  of  Evolution  to  be  no  basis  at  all,  as 
it  has  indeed  no  existence,  in  truth,  and  in  fact,  and 
as  it  is,  really,  what  it  audaciously  and  falsely  de- 
clares the  Bible  account  of  Creation  given  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis  to  be,  i.  e.,  mythical ;  a  pure 
fabrication. 

Lord  Kelvin's  recent  statement  that  Science  is 
compelled  to  affirm  the  existence  of  Creative 
Power  is  dealt  with  as  follows  in  The  Tablet: 

Lord  Kelvin,  the  greatest  of  living  scientists,  has 
recently  made  the  statement  that  so  far  is  science 
from  den}ring  Creative  Power,  or  from  considering 
the  supreme  fact,  the  being  of  Deity,  beyond  her 
scope,  that  she  positively  affirms  the  existence  of 
Creative  Power.  The  words  of  this  "prince  of  sci- 
ence "  have  led  to  a  long  and  significant  con- 
troversy in  the  Tim.es,  where  he  has  been  attacked 
on  three  occasions  by  a  leading  botanist,  on  two  by 
a  prominent  mathematician  and  freethinker,  and 
lastly,  in  a  letter  a  column  long,  by  a  distinguished 
zoologist,    Prof.    Ray   Lankester.      Several   others 


APPENDIX  237 

have  joined  in,  and  the  Times  has  published  an  ex- 
cellent editorial  article  on  this,  the  highest  subject 
of  human  thought. 

It  is  more  than  desirable  to  consider  the  problem 
which  has  led  Lord  Kelvin  to  this  bald  assertion.  It 
is  the  origin  and  source  of  life  on  our  planet.  And 
the  first  fact  of  interest  at  the  present  moment  is 
that  none  of  Lord  Kelvin's  antagonists  have  offered 
the  smallest  suggestion  as  to  the  solution  of  this 
problem.  Whilst  denying  Creative  Power,  they 
have  no  alternative  to  suggest.  Nor  has  one  of  them 
had  the  honesty  to  admit  the  absolute  and  un- 
relieved ignorance  of  biology — the  science  of  life — 
as  to  the  origin  of  its  subject-matter. 

Let  us,  therefore,  make  examination  into  the 
ground  of  Lord  Kelvin's  words.  And  the  first 
question  to  be  asked  is  whether  living  are  ab- 
solutely distinct  from  the  non-living  things  at 
this  hour.  There  has  ever  been  talk  of  "  sponta- 
neous generation."  A  Frenchman  has  described 
"  cells  of  gelatin  "  which  only  needed  a  "  something  " 
to  make  them  live.  An  Indian  professor  has  de- 
clared that  he  can  obtain  living  responses  from  a 
strip  of  tin  as  readily  as  from  a  strip  of  living 
muscle,  and  so  forth  ad  nauseam.  Now  it  may  be 
positively  asserted  that  all  such  statements  are  ut- 
terly worthless.  It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  the  univer- 
sally admitted  and  fundamental  dogma  upon  which 
biology,  physiology,  and  medicine  are  built  that 
every  living  thing  is  descended  from  some  living  an- 


238  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

cestor.  The  great  Harvey,  who  discovered  the  circu- 
lation of  the  blood,  formulated  the  dictum,  "  omne 
vivum  ex  ovo,"  every  living  thing  is  from  an  egg. 
This  is  unquestionably  true ;  but  Yirchow,  the 
founder  of  modern  pathology,  gave  us  further 
detail.  Every  living  thing  on  the  earth,  whether  a 
microbe  or  an  oak,  an  oyster  or  a  horse,  is  com- 
posed of  units  called  cells,  and,  as  Yirchow  taught 
us,  "omnis  cellula  e  cellula,"  every  living  cell  is  de- 
rived from  a  preexistent  living  cell.  Now  these 
are  established  truths,  which  have  never  been  se- 
riously called  in  question  since  their  formula- 
tion. 

This  being  granted,  let  us  go  further.  Astron- 
omy and  geology  have  shown  that  the  surface  of  the 
earth  was  once  fluid,  and  was  covered  with  rolling 
tides  of  molten  lava.  Obviously  no  life  could  then 
exist.  Lord  Kelvin  himself  will  always  be  remem- 
bered as  the  great  mathematician  and  physicist  who 
calculated  that  it  must  be  about  one  hundred  mil- 
lions of  years  since  the  earth's  crust  was  formed.  It 
being  granted  then,  that  life  cannot  be  manufactured 
now,  and  that  life  had  a  beginning  on  the  earth, 
science  makes  enquiry  as  to  how  the  beginning  was 
effected.  Lord  Kelvin  refers  us  to  Creative  Power  ; 
speaking  from  the  scientific  standpoint.  But  the 
vast  majority  of  scientists  are  against  him.  It  is 
fair,  then,  to  enquire  what  they  have  to  offer. 

There  are  only  two  theories.  Both  are  abso- 
lutely worthless.     This  bold  statement  is  made  not 


APPENDIX  239 

as  a  matter  of  personal  opinion,  but  as  the  general 
verdict  of  science  itself. 

The  first  was  no  more  than  a  flight  of  imagi- 
nation ;  and  we  owe  the  bold  jeu  d'esprit  to  none 
other  than  Lord  Kelvin  himself.  He  suggested, 
many  years  ago,  that  the  first  living  matter  had 
been  brought  to  our  planet,  at  some  distant  age,  by 
a  meteorite  or  comet  which  had  borne  it  from 
another  world.  Obviously  this  merely  transferred 
the  site  of  the  problem  to  Mars  or  Jupiter,  or  any- 
where else.  It  was  no  solution.  ISTor,  for  many 
other  reasons,  is  it  for  one  moment  tenable.  It  re- 
mains, in  the  eyes  of  Lord  Kelvin  himself  and 
every  one  else,  as  no  more  than  a  daring  but  base- 
less idea. 

The  second  explanation  is  equally  worthless,  but 
much  more  plausible  and  much  more  specious.  It 
is  generally  accepted  by  ignorant  atheists,  but  is 
entirely  ignored  by  scientists,  atheistic  or  other. 
Even  the  hot  critics  of  Lord  Kelvin,  who  would 
give  anything  for  a  theory  that  would  cast  dis- 
credit on  the  belief  in  Creative  Design,  have  not 
stooped  to  mention  this  outrageous  piece  of  pre- 
sumption, which  is  known  as  the  Carbon-theory  of 
Haeckel,  the  notorious  German  pantheist.  The 
Carbon-theory,  which  his  ignorant  followers  regard 
as  constituting  Haeckel's  title  to  immortal  fame,  is 
very  simple  in  statement.  It  asserts  that  Carbon 
has  life  potentially  within  it ;  that  long  ago,  it  took 
unto  itself,  under  conditions  not  now  re-reproduc- 


240  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ible,  the  other  necessary  elements,  oxygen,  hydro- 
gen, and  nitrogen,  and  made  the  first  living  thing, 
or   "  protist,"  as   Haeckel   calls   it.     We   desire   to 
avoid  cumbersome  detail,  but  a  few  words  are  jus- 
tified wherewith  to  expose  the  error  and  audacious 
ignorance  of  this  theory.     Haeckel  is  a  zoologist  of 
distinction  ;  but  his  knowledge  of  the  chemistry  of 
living  matter  is  second  hand,  being  dealt  with  by  a 
separate  department  of  science  of  which  he  has  no 
personal     knowledge.      So    obvious    is    this,  that 
Haeckel   has  actually  omitted  all  mention  of  two 
elements,  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  which  are  invari- 
ably present  in  "  protoplasm  "  or  living  matter,  and 
the  latter  of  which  is  the  most  essential  constituent 
of  the  nucleus,  which,  in  its  turn,  is  the  most  essen- 
tial part  of  the  living  cell.      There  is  no  space  to 
describe    the    numberless   other    fallacies    in    the 
theory,  which  is,  indeed,  no  theory,  nor  even  an  hy- 
pothesis ;  but  a  tissue  of  deception.     It  is  surely  ter- 
rible to  realize  that  thousands  of  copies  are  selling 
for  a  few  pence  in  England  to-day  of  a  chapter  of 
"science  falsely  so-called"  which  would  make  Car- 
bon— a  diamond,  or  the  core  of  a  "  lead  "  pencil,  or 
a  lump  of  coal — the  source  of  life  ;  would  make  Car- 
bon God. 

The  subject  is  illimitable  ;  but  here  and  now  is  set 
down  the  deliberate  assertion  of  a  professional  biol- 
ogist that  neither  his  own  nor  any  other  branch  of 
science  has  the  slightest  knowledge  of  any  other 
source  of  life  than  the  Almighty.     Lord  Kelvin  is  a 


APPENDIX  241 

physicist,  not  a  biologist.  His  opponents,  therefore, 
deny  his  right  to  an  opinion.  This  article  is  writ- 
ten by  a  biologist  to  show  that  the  science  of  life 
has  for  the  source  of  life  no  other  name  than  God. 

Supplementary  to  the  above  I  will  quote  two 
passages  from  the  editorial  in  the  London  Times  of 
May  13th. 

The  first  is  a  sentence  from  Lord  Kelvin's  deliv- 
erance, selected  by  the  editor  to  state  Lord  Kelvin's 
position,  i.  e.,  "  Scientific  thought  is  compelled  to 
accept  the  idea  of  creative  power." 

The  second  quotation  I  will  make  is  a  sentence 
from  Darwin,  quoted  by  "T.  C.  F."  i.  e.,  "No  evi- 
dence worth  anything  has,  as  yet,  been  advanced  in 
favor  of  a  living  being  being  developed  from  inor- 
ganic matter." 

These  two  sentences  describe,  negatively,  and 
positively,  the  place,  and  the  value  of  evolution  as  a 
law  in  the  economy  of  Nature.  It  is  relative  and 
not  absolute,  in  its  extent ;  or,  as  the  late  Sir  Wm. 
Dawson  phrased  it,  "  not  exclusive  but  comple- 
mentary." 

The  law  of  evolution,  as  known  to  science  is  not 
absolute  in  character,  nor  is  it  exclusive  of  creative 
power.  This  is  the  negative  statement  of  science  ; 
and,  as  such  a  deliverance,  it  is  all  sufficient. 

It  is  all  that  logicians,  or  that  Biblical  Theists 
can  desire  at  its  hands ;  anything  further  is  beyond 
its  sphere,  or  its  ability.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to 
say  that,  with  our  adversaries  rests  the  onus  pro- 


242  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

handi ;  and,  that  the  negative  involves  the  positive. 
I  agree  with  the  editor  of  the  Times  that  the  argu- 
ment from  the  atoms  themselves,  as  manufactured 
articles,  is,  in  itself,  sufficient  as  related  to  the 
claims  of  Theism. 


Note  C 

Evolution  and  Elementary  Theism 

I  will,  first,  summarize  the  theory  of  evolution  as 
it  stands  opposed,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  Biblical 
Theism.  Some  who  advocate  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion are  avowed  unbelievers  in  God,  and  in  the 
Bible.  In  holding  to  cosmical  development,  they 
do  not  admit  a  personal  First-Cause  in  creation ; 
they  are,  therefore,  materialistic  pantheists.  The 
atoms  out  of  which  the  earth  was  "  evolved  "  are 
themselves  uncaused.  Herbert  Spencer  admits  that 
such  is  the  logical  result  of  the  principles  of  evolu- 
tion, as  an  absolute  law  in  regard  to  the  origin  of 
the  universe.  Others  endeavor  to  reconcile  the 
principles  of  cosmical  evolution  with  belief  in  a  per- 
sonal First-Cause,  and,  in  so  doing,  they  are  obliged 
to  come  in  conflict,  not  only  with  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  but  with  the  teaching  and  even  with  the 
personality  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 

Such  is  the  position  assumed  by  "  Lux  Mundi,"  as 
it  represents  what  is  known  as  the  Higher  Criticism. 
"  Lux  Mundi  "  holds  the  principle  of  cosmical  devel- 


APPENDIX  243 

opment,  and,  therefore,  inferentially  holds  the  de- 
velopment of  man  from  the  animals.  It  does  not 
explicitly  say  so,  but  it  considers  such  development 
to  be  very  probable.  In  a  similar  way,  the  trend  of 
its  teaching  is  that  monotheism,  or  belief  in  the 
Lord  Jehovah,  was  evolved  from  polytheism,  which 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  primitive  faith  of 
mankind.  In  consequence  of  the  general  hypoth- 
esis, it  is  found  requisite  to  deny  the  authenticity 
and  veracity  of  at  least  a  portion  of  the  book  of 
Genesis,  because  the  acknowledgment  thereof  as 
historic  facts  would  militate  against  the  theory  of 
evolution ;  as  does  also  the  doctrine  of  native  de- 
pravity, as  a  consequence  of  the  temptation,  and  the 
fall  of  man.  For  the  same  reason,  they  profess  to 
find  a  great  similarity,  if  not  an  actual  unity,  in  all 
the  early  religious  beliefs. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  position,  the  teaching  of 
the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as  the  superstitions  of 
the  heathen  nations,  requires  to  be  purged  by  mo- 
rality, in  order  to  get  rid  both  of  error  and  of  im- 
morality in  its  teachings.  The  principle  of  evolu- 
tion is  applied  to  the  "fusion"  of  philosophy  with 
religion,  in  order  to  such  purification,  and  to  evolve 
truth  from  such  fusion.  The  same  principle  of 
evolution  that  requires  theism  to  be  evolved  from 
polytheism,  and  that  requires  the  denial  of  the 
veracity  of  the  Old  Testament,  denies  that  there  is 
any  foundation  for  dogmatic  theism  before  the  In- 
carnation of  Christ.     It  is  to  be  added  that  such 


2U  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

fusion  is,  they  say,  necessary  in  order  to  purify  our 
idea  of  God/  In  this  they  admit  that  our  concep- 
tion of  the  Supreme  Being  stands  connected  with 
His  transcendence,  and  with  His  dwelling-place  in 
heaven,  as  the  especial  and  peculiar  seat  of  His 
glory.  If  we  ask  why  they  would  "  purify,"  or  alter 
such  conception,  the  answer  is  that  they  assert  and 
magnify  His  immanence  in  the  universe,  and,  practi- 
cally, they  identify  Him  with  it,  or,  with  such  of 
its  laws  as  are  known  to  and  understood  by  man. 
Herein,  they  make  the  same  endeavor  to  do  away 
with  the  supernatural  in  nature,  even  as  they  seek 
to  do  away  with  it  in  Holy  Scripture,  by  denying 
to  it  that  special  and  unique  inspiration  which 
makes  it  in  any  proper  sense  the  Book  of  God ;  and 
by  which  they  seek  to  fuse  with  it  science  and 
philosophy  and  all  natural  truths,  as  homogeneous 
in  character  and  as  elements  of  religion  and  religious 
truth. 

Based  upon  the  Incarnation,  and  as  a  result  from 
it,  or  at  least  connected  with  it,  is  evolution  as  ap- 
plied to  the  mind  of  man.  Not  intrinsically,  by  its 
own  power,  but,  as  is  conjectured,  by  the  work  upon 
it  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  is  an  u evolution"  of 
knowledge,  as  part  of  a  Divine  economy.  "The 
power  that  impels,  impels  (say  they)  all  thinking 
things."  Consequent  upon  this,  scientific  enquiry, 
in  all  directions,  is,  in  fact,  an  inspiration,  and  it  is 
ever  advancing.  Yet,  while  they  admit  that  Chris- 
tianity is  also  final  in  character,  they  would  actually 


APPENDIX  245 

emasculate,  at  least,  some  of  its  doctrines,  and  spe- 
cially the  substitutionary  character  of  the  Atone- 
ment of  Christ,  is  a  doctrine  that  requires  to  be 
purged  away  by  the  fusion  of  Jewish  and  Greek 
thought,  or  by  philosophic  morality. 

The  personal  and  human  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
is  depreciated,  and  even  His  official  testimony  is  so 
explained  as  to  compromise  His  fidelity  to  truth. 
As  the  Atonement  is,  virtually,  deprived  of  its  effi- 
cacy, so  the  doctrine  of  human  depravity  is  denied, 
and  the  doctrine  of  sinless  perfection  is  taught  in 
the  form  of  subjective  evolution  of  character.  The 
transcendency  of  God's  government  of  the  world  is 
virtually  neutralized  by  their  doctrine  of  "imma- 
nence." This  is  required,  because  they  minimize,  or 
neutralize  the  supernatural  element  in  creation, 
providence  and  history.  By  this  principle  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Scriptures,  also,  is  reduced  to  a 
nullity.  Such  are  the  salient  results  of  the  principle 
of  evolution,  as  held  by  "  Lux  Mundi,"  and  they 
afford  a  comprehensive  idea  of  its  character  as  a 
theodicy.  Each  of  the  subjects  referred  to  will 
come  up  hereafter.  It  must  be  added,  here,  that 
connected  with  this  elaborate  metaphysical  pan- 
theism, is  the  sacramental  theory  of  the  church, 
which  is  the  primary  feature  of  the  Eomish  system. 
This  theory  is  fully  asserted  in  "  Lux  Mundi." 
Actually  and  practically,  according  to  its  teaching 
inspiration  resides  in  the  church,  and  "the  church 
and  Christian  consciousness  "  must  (they  say)  deter- 


246  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

mine  how  much  of  the  Scriptures  is  to  be  believed, 
and  in  what  sense. 

I  have  given  a  synoptical  view  of  evolution,  and 
its  results,  as  a  theodicy,  held  by  men  who  profess 
to  be  both  Christians  and  theologians.  I  propose, 
now,  to  state  the  attitude  of  elementary  and  Bib- 
lical Theism  as  related  to  and  as  contrasted  with  it, 
and  specially  in  reference  to  the  elementary  evi- 
dences of  theism,  viz.,  the  being  and  personality  of 
God,  as  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  World.  Be- 
ginning then  with  the  argument  for  the  Divine  ex- 
istence, and  with  His  creative  work,  it  is  to  be  said 
that  in  this,  and  in  the  truths  based  upon  it,  al- 
though the  fact  is  set  forth,  as  a  fact,  grounded  on 
sufficient,  valid  and  rational  evidence;  Theists 
wThose  theology  is  consistently  grounded  on  the 
Bible  as  a  revelation  from  God,  do  not  hold  their 
theism  to  require  demonstration,  or  philosophic 
proof  in  order  to  its  validity,  as  true.  Various 
Christian  apologists  have  formulated  arguments,  or 
analogies  which,  while  declaring  the  Divine  exist- 
ence and  personality  to  be  highly  consistent  with 
all  that  is  rational,  yet,  if  philosophically  examined, 
would  involve  pantheism.  We  may  say,  therefore, 
from  these  facts,  and  from  intrinsic  consideration, 
or  the  nature  of  the  subject,  and  also  from  the  lan- 
guage of  Holy  Scripture  in  Heb.  11 :  2,  "  He  that 
cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He 
is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him  ; " 
but  that  such   demonstration   is  incompatible  both 


APPENDIX  247 

with  the  Divine  purpose  in  His  moral  government, 
and  with  the  intrinsic  fitness  of  things,  because  of 
the  subject  matter,  and  because  of  the  nature  of 
man  as  a  moral  agent,  under  probation,  that  such 
demonstration  should  be  presented,  or  capable  of 
presentation.  It  may,  in  fact,  be  said  to  be  incom- 
patible with  the  nature  of  God,  and  with  the  char- 
acter of  man,  i.  e.,  with  his  ontological  character 
and  capabilities.  But,  although  it  is  not  requisite 
that  the  evidence  should,  as  in  the  case  of  philoso- 
phy, and  mathematics,  amount  to  absolute  proof 
and  demonstration,  it  is  requisite  that  it  be  of  such 
a  character  and  extent  as  may  entitle  it,  as  moral 
truth,  to  acceptance  by  a  moral  agent.  Evolution, 
as  it  is  actually  based  upon  philosophy,  or  rather 
philosophic  speculation,  and  as  it  is  purely  a  mental 
conception,  and  hypothesis,  aims  at  certitude  ;  but 
it  is  intellectual,  or  mechanical  certitude,  and  abso- 
lute necessity.  It  is  a  palpable  fact  that  man's  in- 
tellectual capacities  are  finite ;  as  this  suggests,  an 
infinite  intelligence,  so,  it  evidences  natural  inca- 
pacity to  measure  the  infinite,  or  to  comprehend  it ; 
demonstration,  both  of  the  being  of  God  and  of  all 
the  truths  consequent  upon  that  being  is  intrinsic- 
ally impossible.  That  such  demonstration  is  inher- 
ently incompatible  with  the  requirements  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  we  will  consider  more  fully 
hereafter.  But,  while  such  demonstration  is  denied 
by  the  inherent  necessities  of  the  case,  we  are  justi- 
fied in  saying  that  it  is  also  denied  by  Divine  pur- 


248  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

pose  and  wisdom.  I  have  referred  to  the  inferential 
teaching  of  Heb.  11  :  2,  as  requiring  faith  in  the 
Divine  existence  and  character.  The  same  require- 
ment of  man,  as  a  moral  agent,  is  the  paramount,  as 
well  as  the  primary  requirement  of  God  in  Holy 
Scripture,  as  it  is  the  mainspring  of  all  obedience. 

There  are  further  considerations.  The  measure 
and  degree  of  God's  revelations  of  Himself  to  man 
have,  at  all  times,  been  so  regulated  as  to  require 
faith,  and  also  to  exclude  mechanical  certitude.  It 
is  true  to  fact  that,  while  miracles,  in  themselves 
considered,  cannot  compel  belief,  they  are  yet  a 
cogent  reason  to  justify  a  reasonable  faith  ;  and  they 
go  to  make  man  in  a  greater  degree  responsible  for 
disobedience  to  evidence.  Yet  our  Lord  intimates 
in  Matt,  11 :  20-24,  that,  in  certain  cases,  such  kind 
and  degree  of  evidence,  if  exhibited,  would  have 
amounted  to  moral  compulsion,  and  that  such  a 
measure  of  evidence  it  is  God's  purpose  to  withhold. 
It  is  also  a  fact  that,  notwithstanding  progressive 
developments  of  truth  in  Holy  Scripture,  yet,  the 
inscrutability  of  God,  as  an  element  of  His  being, 
and  of  His  moral  government,  as  He  is  the  infinite 
and  the  eternal  One,  remains  intact. 

It  is  fitting,  first,  to  present  the  negative  argu- 
ment against  evolution,  and  to  draw  attention  to 
the  fact  that  anti-theists  require  from  theists  a 
demonstration,  which  they  themselves  are  not  able 
to  give  for  their  philosophical  speculations ;  while 
upon  them  lies  the  onus  probandi. 


APPENDIX  249 

To  the  foregoing  I  will  add  the  five  fatal  objec- 
tions to  evolution,  as  the  absolute  law  of  the  Cos- 
mos, and  as  stated  by  Sir  ¥m.  Dawson  in  his 
"  Origin  of  the  World." 

(1)  Albuminous,  or  protoplasmic  material  seems 
necessary  to  the  existence  of  every  living  being ;  it 
is  known  to  us,  as  a  product,  only,  of  the  action  of 
previously  living  protoplasm.  The  origin  of  proto- 
plasm is  a  mystery  to  science. 

(2)  No  mode  is  known  to  us  whereby  life  can  be 
communicated  to  dead  protoplasm. 

(3)  Species  are,  to  science,  unchangeable  units, 
the  origin  of  which  we  have  no  means  of  tracing. 

(4)  There  is  radical  difference  between  animal 
life  in  general,  and  that  of  individual  in  relation  to 
the  embryo.  Animal  life  in  general  bears  a  resem- 
blance to  the  development  of  the  individual  from 
the  embryo,  yet  the  external  conditions  and  detail  of 
the  two  series  are  different ;  so  of  their  origin. 

(5)  Groups  of  animals  in  geological  time  always 
end  without  link  or  connection  with  previous 
beings. 

Evolution  and  the  Bible  Doctrine  of  Creation 

I  will,  also,  here  put  in  contrast  the  Bible  doc- 
trine of  creation  with  the  hypothesis  of  evolution, 
and  the  statement  of  the  higher  critics  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  world.  Upon  the  hypothesis  aforesaid 
the  world  was  produced  by  an  evolutionary  process, 
and,   by.  the  same  law,  man  came  into  existence 


250  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

therein,  as  a  developed  animal.  Upon  the  same 
hypothesis,  monotheism  is  required  to  be  a  develop- 
ment from  polytheism.  To  all  these  different 
propositions  are  the  higher  critics  committed  by 
their  acceptance  of  evolution  as  the  governing  law 
of  this  earth,  and  of  all  appertaining  to  it. 

But  "  Lux  Mundi "  does  not  so  absolutely  and 
explicitly  accept  evolution,  as  to  reject  the  person- 
ality of  God>  and  the  claims  of  the  New  Testament, 
but  they  wish  to  assert  that  God  created,  or  rather 
brought  the  cosmos  into  being,  by,  or  through  the 
law  of  evolution ;  that  by  the  same  law,  He  pro- 
duced man  upon  the  earth,  and  by  the  same  law, 
He  redeemed  him,  or  rather  put  him  in  the  way  of 
redeeming  himself.  In  the  first  place,  I  will  observe 
that,  while  the  evolutionary  hypothesis  requires  all 
this,  in  conformity  to  this  law,  they  are  obliged  (1) 
to  deny  creation  as  an  act  of  God's  transcendent 
personality,  (2)  they  are  obliged  to  deny  Bible 
chronology  and  its  statement  as  to  the  antiquity  of 
man,  (3)  they  are  obliged,  not  only  to  make  poly- 
theism the  primitive  religion  of  man,  and  to  debase 
him  as  to  his  origin  and  ontological  qualities  and 
personality,  involving,  as  it  does,  his  moral  agency, 
but,  in  rejecting  the  first  ten  chapters  of  Genesis, 
they  reject  the  Bible  doctrine  of  sin,  its  origin, 
character  and  consequences,  as  taught  in  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments;  as  the  whole  of  Bible 
teaching,  both  as  to  doctrine  and  practice,  is  based 
on  this  initial  truth,  and  historic  fact,  as  to  its  en- 


APPENDIX  25 1 

trance  into  the  world  ;  but,  (4)  they  are  required  to 
deny  the  plain  and  explicit  teaching  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  to  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
Mosaic  law,  as,  also,  to  deny,  as  they  do,  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement  and  sacrifice,  as  taught  therein, 
and  the  plain  and  emphatic  utterances  of  our  Lord 
concerning  Himself  as  related  thereto.  All  this,  I 
would  observe,  is  involved  in  the  theodicy  of  Lux 
Mundi,  and  there  is,  logically,  no  alternative  for 
them,  in  denying  the  historical  character  of  the 
first  ten  chapters  of  Genesis,  but  to  deny  the  whole 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  the  claims  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  Messiah  and  Saviour. 

It  would  appear  that,  as  they  would  make  the 
Law  of  Moses  to  be  of  a  date  subsequent  to  the 
prophetical  books,  so  also  do  they  aver  that  Jewish 
tradition,  at  the  first,  regarded  Jehovah  only  as  a 
local  deity,  and  did  not  ascribe  to  Him  creation  and 
eternity  of  being.  This  falsification  of  Jewish  tra- 
dition and  denial  of  the  testimony  of  Joseph  us  and 
Philo  Judeas  is  rejected  by  Prof.  Herman  Gunkel 
of  the  University  of  Berlin,  in  a  commentary  on 
Genesis,  lately  issued.  He  affirms  that  there  is  the 
greatest  possible  contrast  between  the  traditions  of 
other  nations  concerning  their  gods  and  the  tradi- 
tions of  Israel  in  regard  to  Jehovah.  But  we  build 
upon  the  sure  and  certain  evidence  of  the  engrafted 
Word,  itself,  and  all  through  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  we  find  explicit  or  implicit  statements 
of  the  fact  of  God  as  Creator  and  Sustainer  of  the 


252  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

world,  or  of  incidental  references  thereto,  as  to 
axiomatic  truths  ;  and,  as  I  have  before  said,  the 
whole  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  is  based 
upon  God's  creative  act,  as  the  superstructure  is 
based  upon  the  foundation.  I  might  quote  many 
passages  in  proof,  but  it  is  unnecessary.  The  state- 
ments of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  this  connection 
are,  as  evidence,  amply  sufficient  to  refer  to. 


Note  D 


Of  Faith  in  God 
This  initiatoiy  and  fundamental  truth,  the  basis 
alike  of  all  sound  theism  and  sound  theology,  is 
very  ably  and  satisfactorily  set  forth  by  Dr.  Thos. 
Goodwin  in  his  "Object  and  acts  of  justifying 
faith."  Dr.  Goodwin  grounds  his  arguments,  nega- 
tively, on  the  nature  of  God's  being,  and,  posi- 
tively, on  the  declaration  of  that  being,  character 
and  will  of  God,  as  solemnly  proclaimed  by  God 
Himself  in  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  Exodus.  He 
shews  that  such  declaration  of  the  nature  and 
necessary  being  of  God  fed  the  faith  of  the  saints 
of  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  in  subsequent  ages 
to  that  in  which  such  declaration  was  made,  it 
permeated  and  pervaded  the  utterances  of  the 
sacred  writers  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  cumulative 
testimony  to  God's  character  and  will ;  and  that 
the  being  and  personality  of  God,  as  revealed,  and 


APPENDIX  253 

specially  by  His  name  Jehovah,  is  the  primary 
object  held  forth  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the 
object  to  which  man's  faith,  as  a  creature  and  a 
sinner,  is  due.1     It  has  by  some  been  affirmed  that 

1  It  is  remarkable  that  in  Elihu's  appeal  to  Job  (chapters  33  to  35) 
he  does  so  by  means  of  God's  implicit  attributes ;  the  attributes  of 
His  nature,  or  being,  and  it  is  yet  more  remarkable  that  when  God 
"  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirlwind,"'  in  grand  and  majestic  lan- 
guage, He  employed  the  same  line  of  evidence  (chapters  39  and  40). 
It  is  to  be  considered  that  herein  there  is  a  direct  reference  to  the 
necessary  being  and  personality  of  God,  as  distinguished  from  His 
moral  attributes,  and  perfections.  That  God's  perfect  being,  as  the 
self-existent  One,  is  evidenced  in  His  works,  as  appealed  to  both  by 
Elihu  and  by  Jehovah  Himself,  is  not  matter  for  argument,  and,  if 
God  is  admittedly  so  declared  in  His  implicit  attributes,  such  declara- 
tion must  include  all  the  attributes  of  His  personality ;  that  is  to  say, 
both  His  implicit  and  explicit  attributes,  as  elements  of  His  unique 
personality,  as  Cause  and  as  Perfection.  Further,  if  but  one  of  God's 
moral  attributes  is  made  manifest  in  and  by  His  works,  as,  for  in- 
stance, His  perfect  and  unalterable  justice  and  unbending  equity, 
this  moral  attribute,  as  manifested,  carries  with  such  manifestations 
every  other  moral  and  explicit,  and  also  every  natural  or  implicit  at- 
tribute of  His  personality,  for  God's  moral  perfections  are  insepa- 
rable from,  if  not  identified  with,  each  other  and  are  one  in  Him,  or 
they  would  not,  any  of  them,  be  the  attributes  of  an  all-perfect  being ; 
for  both  as  Cause  and  as  Perfection,  He  is  one  and  the  same.  But, 
passing  from  the  inherent  and  necessary  evidence  of  His  works,  and 
His  attributes  as,  so,  manifested  to  the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  In  the  assertion  of  the  claims  of  God's  personality 
we  find  that  there  is  a  concurrence  of  evidence ;  the  argument  is  one 
and  the  same.  In  the  quotations  I  have  made  it  will  be  observed 
that  the  written  law  corroborates  that  which  is  unwritten  and  con- 
solidates it.  It  declares  that  God's  attributes  are  displayed  and  His 
personality  asserted  and  declared  in  His  works.  This  testimony,  so 
corroborated,  is  constant  and  continuous ;  specially,  we  may  say, 
does  it  permeate  and  pervade  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  It  is 
the  emphatic  assertion  of  His  glorious  personality ;  not  alone  of  His 
Eternity  and  Truth,  but  also  of  His  abundant  goodness  and  specially 
of  His  spiritual  blessings  and  His  everlasting  salvation,  as  the  out- 


254  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  mere  fact  of  mercy  being  a  part  of  the  Divine 
nature  is  not  sufficient  to  assure  man,  as  a  sinner, 
that  such  mercy  will  be  exercised  on  his  behalf,  and 
that  a  special  and  recorded  volition  of  the  Most 
High  is  necessary  and  essential.  Dr.  Goodwin 
meets  this  objection  specifically.  I  will  quote  his 
reply  thereto  upon  pages  fifty  and  fifty -one  of  the 
before  mentioned  volume.  "But,  you  will  say, 
though  there  is  an  ability  to  succor,  and  out  of 
strength  to  shew  mercy,  yet,  where  is  the  affection 
of  mercy  and  whence  arises  that  ?  Ans. — The  seat 
of  mercy  is  in  the  will,  as  appears  by  that  speech 
1 1  will  be  merciful  to  whom  I  will  be  merciful' 
(Ex.  33 :  19).  Now  the  will  of  God  hath  affections 
in  it,  for  there  is  a  hatred  of  sin,  which  is  an  affec- 
tion  of  the   will   that   is  natural.     Though   these 

come  of  His  Divine  mercy  to  usward.  "See  now  that  I  kill  and  I 
make  alive ;  I  wound  and  I  heal,  and  there  is  none  that  can  deliver 
out  of  my  hand ;  I  will  work  and  who  shall  let  it "  (Is.  43 :  12,  13 ;  so 
also  45:  21,  22),  "Tell  ye,  and  bring  them  near;  yea,  let  them  take 
counsel  together ;  who  hath  declared  this  from  ancient  time  ?  Have 
not  I,  the  Lord  ?  and  there  is  no  god  else  beside  Me ;  a  just  God  and 
a  Saviour ;  there  is  none  beside  Me ;  Look  unto  Me  and  be  ye  saved, 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  for  I  am  God  and  there  is  none  else." 

In  both  cases  the  appeal  is  to  His  personality.  It  is  the  same  doc- 
trine identically  as  that  set  forth  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Himself, 
when  He  says,  "  Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  The  types  of  the  law,  and  the 
various  figures  of  the  Old  Testament  reiterate  the  same  truth,  and 
convey  the  same  teaching  as  the  gospel  message  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,"  and  the  figure  of  the  brazen  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  as 
explained  by  our  Saviour,  is  a  declaration  of  the  unity  of  God,  and 
the  unity  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 


APPENDIX  255 

affections  in  God  are  but  various  postures  of  His 
will  to  various  objects,  what  then  is  mercy  in  His 
will  ?  Not  a  mere  act,  but  a  propensity,  an  inward 
inclination,  from  out  of  His  goodness  of  will  to 
shew  mercy  to  them  that  are  in  misery  (Ps.  96 :  5). 
He  is  ready  to  forgive.  '  The  Lord  is  ready  to  for- 
give and  plenteous  in  mercy  to  all  them  that  call 
upon  Him.'  There  are  not  metaphors  (as  bowels 
and  the  like,  used  of  mercy)  (Ps.  34:  18),  but  '  The 
Lord  is  nigh  unto  them  that  are  of  a  broken  heart.' 
Nor  in  respect  of  omnipotence,  merely,  so  He  is  to 
all ;  but  in  readiness  of  disposition  and  inclination, 
He  is  ready  and  quick  to  be  merciful  as  soon 
as  He  sees  their  hearts.  If  any  say  that  God 
willeth  mercy,  and  it  is  His  will  to  shew  mercy, 
let  them  add  and  acknowledge  that  there  is  a 
propenseness  in  His  will  thereunto,  unto  such 
merciful  acts,  and  then  they  must  say,  too,  that 
mercy  (as  to  the  affection  of  it)  is  properly  in 
God." 

The  argument  of  Dr.  Goodwin  in  this  place,  and 
more  fully  afterwards,  is  valid  argument  and  abso- 
lute in  character.  He  makes  a  statement  on  page 
ten,  chapter  two,  which  qualifies  what  he  afterwards 
argues,  both  from  God's  nature  itself  (as  here),  and 
also  from  His  proclamation  of  His  Name  in  Ex.  34 ; 
by  reference  to  the  case  of  the  devils,  that  a  declar- 
ation, as  an  act  of  His  will,  were  necessary  to  us- 
ward,  in  order  to  our  mercy  and  forgiveness.  So 
also   Dr.    Owen    on    Forgiveness   (p.   418).     Also, 


256  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

"  Person  and  Glory  of  Christ"  (p.  124).1  To  this  I 
answer,  God  is  inherently  and  necessarily  merciful 
to  the  proper  subjects  of  His  mercy ;  and  as  He  is  a 
perfect  Being,  and  a  perfect  Moral  Governor,  the 

1  That  God  is,  in  His  necessary  character  and  being,  merciful  to 
the  proper  subjects  of  His  mercy,  is  a  fact  established  by  accessory 
evidence  upon  a  cognate  subject.  As  of  the  Divine  character  as  nec- 
essarily and  essentially  merciful,  so,  of  the  fruits,  or  the  effects  of 
such  a  merciful  character. 

"  There  is  forgiveness  with  Thee,  therefore  Thou  shalt  be  feared." 
The  word  in  the  Hebrew  seliyah,  is  m  the  prayer  book  version, 
translated  by  the  word  mercy  (probably  from  the  Septuagint);  as  an 
equivalent  for,  and  synonym  of  "  mercy,"  or  cleos.  A  parallel 
passage  may  here  be  quoted,  "For  Thou  Lord  art  good,  and  ready 
to  forgive  and  of  great  mercy  to  all  them  that  call  upon  Thee  "  (Ps. 
86 :  5).  The  word  here  used  is  salach,  forgiving,  or  as  in  the  author- 
ized version—-'  ready  to  forgive,"  for  which  the  word  eleos,  (in  the 
Greek)  is  a  true  equivalent.  Notice  also,  that  the  word  Tov,  "  good  " 
is  a  synonomous  term,  and  has  the  same  reference. 

And,  moreover,  "  Eich  in  mercy  to  all  that  call  upon  Thee." 

This  verse,  in  its  entirety,  we  may  regard  as  a  full  delineation  of 
the  nature,  or  being  of  God. 

It  may  be  summarized  by  saying  that  He  is,  in  His  being,  neces- 
sarily, and  essentially,  merciful,  as  He  is  ready  to  forgive,  or  forgiv- 
ing; but,  we  are  very  distinctly  told,  in  many  places  that  such  for- 
giveness is  only  obtained  under  given  conditions.  "  If  we  confess  our 
sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness  "  (1  John  1 :  9). 

In  other  woi-ds, — under  the  Divinely  given,  and  necessary  conditions 
annexed  thereto,  He  will, — certainly, — be  true  to  His  character.  To 
this  it  may  be  added,  as  a  cognate  truth,  of  those  whom  God  has,  by 
His  Holy  Spirit  regenerated,  and  made,  in  measure,  to  partake  of 
His  mind,  that  they  are,  -so,  made  merciful  and  forgiving  in  character. 

St.  James  tells  us,  in  his  general  Epistle  (ch.  1 :  9),  that  "  The  wis- 
dom that  is  from  above  is,  first,  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
easy  to  be  entreated  ;  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits."  This  character 
is  to  be  put  in  contrast  with  that  of  the  unregenerate,  who  are  de- 
clared of  God,  and  are  evidenced  as  such  before  men,  as  "  implacable, 


APPENDIX  257 

devils  are  not  proper  subjects  of  His  mercy,  as 
their  sin  was  against  such  a  full  degree  of  knowl- 
edge of  God  as  made  it  presumption  and  irremissi- 
ble.  So,  and  for  this  reason,  they  have,  by  a  pre- 
sumptuous act,  and  by  abuse  of  their  free  agency, 
identified  themselves  with  sin,  and  cast  off  their 
rightful  allegiance  to  God,  and  by  a  moral  inability 
as  the  result  of  their  own  act,  they  cannot  repent. 
This  inability  binds  all  of  their  moral  nature,  they 
will  not  and  they  do  not  desire  to  repent.  Theirs 
is  a  rooted  enmity  and  antagonism  to  God,  and  to 
His  Holy  law.  Not  so  of  the  sin  of  man,  collect- 
ively, and  generically  considered,  as  in  Adam.  I 
mean  there  is  not  that  degree  of  inherent  moral  in- 
ability, although  there  be  need  of  a  Divine  act  of 
regeneration.  The  individual  sinner,  under  Moses' 
law,  who  sinned  presumptuously  against  that  law, 
for  him  such  law  made  no  provision  for  atonement 
and  forgiveness.  Therefore,  the  declaration  in  Ex. 
34 ;  as  setting  forth  both  what  is  inherent  in  God's 
nature,  and  so  solemnly  ratifying  the  fact  of  His 
inherently  merciful  nature  as  "good  and  ready  to 
forgive  "  (Ps.  86  :  5)  holds  absolutely  and  without 
qualification,  as  in  God,  and  in  and  by  His  holy 

unmerciful"  (Rom.  1 :  31).  Further  than  this:  Our  Lord's  words  to 
His  disciples,  while  inculcating  mercy  upon  them  as  a  necessary  and 
distinctive  feature,  do  so,  on  defined  and  specified  condUions. 

"  If  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee,  rebuke  him  ;  and,  if  he  repent, 
forgive  him.  And  if  he  trespass  against  thee  seven  times  in  a  day, 
and  seven  times  in  a  day  tarn  again  to  thee,  saying,  I  repent,  thou 
shalt  forgive  him  "  (Luke  17  :  3,  4). 


258  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

moral  law,  to  all  who  are,  properly,  and  actually  sub- 
jects of  His  mercy,  i.  e.,  to  those  who  will  and  who 
do  repent.  I  will  add  to  this  what  I  have  elsewhere 
said  as  to  the  unity  of  all  God's  attributes  (implicit 
and  explicit)  in  His  personality,  and,  therefore,  the 
action  of  all  those  attributes  is  a  reciprocal  action, 
the  action  of  one  is  the  action  of  all.  The  implicit 
declaration,  to  us  of  His  disposition  to,  and  of  His 
purposes  of  mercy,  as  such  perfect  good,  as  He 
stands  related  to  us,  His  creatures,  under  such  con- 
ditions (also  in  His  nature)  as  makes  us  proper  sub- 
jects of  His  mercy.  As  we  owe  it  to  God,  as  the 
necessary  and  perfect  good,  so  revealed  to  us,  to  be- 
lieve in  His  nature,  as  such  perfect  good,  so  do  we 
owe  it  to  Him,  as  the  good,  and  as  so  revealed,  to 
believe  that  His  purpose  to  us  and  His  mind  and 
will  towards  us,  as  creatures,  and  as  sinners,  are 
purposes  and  dispositions  of  perfect  goodness,  per- 
fect truth  and  perfect  faithfulness,  as  we,  so,  put 
our  whole  trust  in  Him ;  and  such  deduction  from 
the  being  of  God  is  justified  and  confirmed  by  the 
explicit  utterances  of  His  word,  and  by  His  prom- 
ises of  mercy  to  such,  as  wTell  as  such  result  is  se- 
cured by  the  validity  of  the  premises  of  His  neces- 
sary being  and  character. 

There  is  much  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  both  of 
the  Old  and  of  the  New  Testaments,  to  fortify,  and 
also  to  reassert  and  amplify  the  solemn  declaration, 
specifically  made  by  Jehovah  Himself  in  Ex.  34 : 
5-18.    We  find  it  asserted,  and  reasserted  in  the  Old 


APPENDIX  259 

Testament,  on  many  occasions,  from  different  points 
of  view  ;  in  fact  it  may  be  said  to  be  continuously 
asserted  ;  either  explicitly  or  implicitly.  I  will 
oive  but  two,  or  three  instances.  It  is  an  oft-re- 
peated  utterance, — perhaps,  specially  in  the  Psalms, 
and  in  some  places  made  specially  emphatic,  that 
"  His  mercy  endureth  forever." 

In  Psalm  136,  the  Psalmist  first  makes  this  appli- 
cation, absolutely,  and  specifically,  to  the  nature, 
and  being  of  God  ;  to  His  Personality  as  Jehovah  ; 
he  then  applies  it  to  His  works  in  Creation,  as  well 
as  to  His  implicit  attributes ;  he  then  proceeds  to 
apply  it  to  the  history  of  His  Providence  and  care 
over  the  Israelites  as  a  people  from  the  time  of 
the  Exodus  until  their  possession  of  the  land  of 
Canaan,  as  promised  to  Abraham.  Perhaps  the 
great  truth  so  iterated  and  reiterated,  that  "  His 
mercy  endureth  forever,"  as  solemnly  stated  in  each 
particular  instance,  is  not  clearly  apprehended,  and 
at  once  realized.  Is  it  not  this  :  His  mercy  is  as 
certain,  as  constant,  as  unchangeable  as  is  His  own 
Being  f  It  is  thus  set  forth  that  all  men  may  know, 
apprehend,  and  rely  most  surely  upon  it,  that  our 
God  is  a  God  of  necessary,  unchangeable,  and  eter- 
nal mercy  :  it  is  identified  with  His  Name, — that 
endureth  forever.  u  Thy  Name  0  Jehovah,  endur- 
eth forever  "  (Ps.  135  :  13). 

In  this  attribute  of  His  character  He  is  not  only 
fully  to  be  depended  upon,  but,  in  this,  emphatic- 
ally, He  has  a  special  delight.     We  are  told,  for  in- 


260  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

stance,  that  "  The  Lord's  delight  is  in  them  that 
fear  Him,  and  in  those  that  hope  in  His  mercy " 
(Ps.  147:  11;  also  Micah  7:  18),  "Because  He  de- 
lighteth  in  mercy" 

In  so  doing  they  do  but  truly  apprehend  and  con- 
fess His  real  character,  and  give  Him  the  glory  that 
is  due  unto  His  Name.  To  these  instances  quoted, 
I  will  add  but  one  more  reference  to  a  fundamental 
and  primary  truth  of  the  greatest  importance  and 
necessity,  as  setting  forth  the  character  and  being 
of  God. 

In  Psalm  89  :  1,  2,  David  says  :  "  I  will  sing  of 
the  mercies  of  the  Lord  forever  :  with  my  mouth  I 
will  make  known  Thy  faithfulness  to  all  genera- 
tions. For  I  have  said,  Mercy  shall  be  built  up  for- 
ever :  Thy  faithfulness  shalt  Thou  establish  in  the 
very  Heavens,"  i.  e.,  this  truth  as  an  eternal  truth  : 
Our  God  is  a  God  of  eternal,  excellent  and  unfail- 
ing mercy ;  Mercy,  as  declared  and  offered,  freely, 
to  all  people  ;  Mercy,  and  Truth,  specially  towards 
His  servants,  as  they  are  related  to  Him  by  faith 
and  obedience,  and  as  they  are,  thus,  heirs  of  His 
Covenant,  and  peculiar  promises. 

There  is  yet  further,  accessory,  and  inferential 
evidence  that  the  Personality  of  God,  inherently 
considered,  is  the  proper,  primary,  and  Divinely 
appointed  object  of  human  trust ;  of  man's  absolute 
trust,  as  a  man  and  as  a  sinner.  We  have  al- 
ready seen  that  God  has  annexed  a  specific  bless- 
ing   to   trust    in    "  His   Name,"   and   in   Himself ; 


APPENDIX  261 

these   are   synonymous  terms,  or   parallel   expres- 
sions. 

He  may,  then,  ask  for  what  does  man  need  to,  and 
for  what  should  he  trust  in  God  ?  In  general  terms 
we  may  say,  As  He  is  the  absolute  source  and  cen- 
tre of  all  good,  in  Himself,  and  to  him,  as  a  crea- 
ture, and  as  he  is  a  sinner ;  but  more  particularly, 
and  specially,  as  he  is  a  sinner.  And  what  special 
and  peculiar  good  does  man  need  from  God,  as  such  ; 
as  he  is  a  sinner  f 

We  may  comprise  it  all  in  two  words,  Mercy, 
and  Truth  ;  and  Truth  as  it  stands  related  to,  and 
is  security, — specially, — for  Mercy  ! 

The  result,  inferentially  considered,  is  the  same 
as  the  dogmatic  and  specific  evidence  and  require- 
ment, i.  e.,  it  is  due  to  God,  as  an  inherent  and  nec- 
essary element  of  His  Personality,  that  man  should 
trust  in  Him,  as  He  is  the  Perfection  of  Mercy. 

With  regard  to  faith  in  God,  as  revealed  in  crea- 
tion and  providence,  it  is  asserted,  by  some,  that 
these  evidences  are  inadequate  revelations  to  us,  of 
His  being  and  character,  that  they  do  but  represent 
and  declare  some  of  the  elements  of  that  being,  i.  e.-, 
His  power,  His  wisdom  and  His  holiness,  but  not 
His  love  and  mercy,  and,  so,  do  not  give  that 
knowledge  of  God  which  is  necessary  to  salvation. 
These  statements  commonly  have  been  made  with 
a  view  to  magnify  Holy  Scripture,  but  they  are 
neither  justifiable  nor  true.  In  the  first  place,  be 
it  considered  that  God's  attributes  are  inseparable 


262  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

from  each  other,  and  are  inherent  not  only  in  His 
personality,  but  in  all  His  acts  and  operations.  I 
do  not  now  dwell  upon  the  inference  deducible  from 
such  a  proposition,  counter  to  God's  necessary  per- 
fections in,  so,  withholding  from  a  large,  and  in 
fact,  the  larger  portion  of  mankind,  that  knowledge 
which  is  necessary  to  their  fulfilment  of  the  duty 
which  they  owe  to  Him.  It  would  follow  from 
their  premises  that  nature  does  not  at  all  reveal 
God,  i.  e.y  a  perfect  personality,  for  such,  alone,  is 
the  God  of  nature,  or  the  God  of  the  Bible. 

I  have  before  shown  that  God  is  known  by  His 
works,  and  that  this  truth  is  corroborated,  and  con- 
firmed by  the  plain  and  distinct  teaching  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  sufficient  now  to 
notice  that,  in  such  teaching,  our  Lord  affirms  that 
goodness  and  mercy  of  God  to  be  declared  in  the  fact 
that  He  causes  the  sun  to  arise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  that  He  sends  rain  on  the  just  and  on 
the  unjust. 

I  purpose,  now,  to  establish  the  proposition  that 
the  personality  of  God  the  Father,  as  Creator  and 
moral  governor,  is  propounded  to  us  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture as  the  primary  and  essential  object  of  our 
faith,  in  all  the  evidence  of  Him  so  set  forth  to  us. 
This  proposition  I  conceive  to  have  a  very  impor- 
tant relation  to  fundamental  principles  of  theism. 
I  shall  but  epitomize  what  I  regard  as  the  teaching 
of  Holy  Scripture  on  this  point. 

The  fact  that  God's  works  of  creation  and  provi- 


APPENDIX  263 

dence  do,  in  themselves,  as  addressed  to  man,  com- 
prehend and  contain  evidence  of  His  existence  and 
character,  constitute  a  fundamental,  natural  and 
necessary  requirement,  from  man,  of  faith  in  Him 
and  of  obedience  to  Him.  This  requirement  of 
natural  law  is  reasserted  and  confirmed,  implicitly, 
and  explicitly,  by  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scripture, 
as  the  complementum  of  evidence.  The  grounds 
of  our  faith  in  God  are,  both  in  creation  and  in 
Holy  Scripture,  presented  as  twofold,  *.  e.9  God  as 
First-Cause,  and  God  as  perfection.  These  have 
respect  to  God  (1)  as  Creator,  and  (2)  as  Moral 
Governor,  but  both  these  aspects  of  God  stand  re- 
lated to  His  personality,  and  to  His  implicit  or 
natural,  and  to  His  explicit  or  moral  attributes  of 
character.  This  conception  of  the  personality  of 
God  includes  all  His  attributes,  as  First-Cause,  and 
as  perfection,  and  not  solely  His  power,  holiness 
and  wisdom.  Whether  we  view  Him  as  Creator, 
or  as  Moral  Governor,  God's  personality  stands  re- 
lated to  us  as  chief  and  perfect  good.  The  attri 
butes  of  God's  personality  are  reciprocally  operative, 
in  both  relations,  that  is  to  say,  that  His  unity — the 
unity  of  His  personality  as  Cause  and  as  perfection 
— is  found  in  the  attributes  of  that  personality.  To 
"  know  God,"  and  to  believe  in  Him,  are,  in  Holy 
Scripture,  synonymous  terms ;  so,  also  to  obey  and 
to  love  Him.  Such  knowledge  or  belief  of  God  is 
a  belief  in  Him  as  the  perfection  of  good.  "  There 
is    none    good    but    One,    that    is    God "     (Matt. 


264  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

19  :  17),  i.  e.,  the  perfect  personality.  This  includes 
both  His  natural  and  His  moral  attributes,  or,  per- 
fect being  and  perfect  character.  It  is  of  peculiar 
importance  to  define  what  is  the  relation  that  the 
person  of  Christ,  as  the  object  of  our  faith,  has  to 
the  personality  of  God,  as  the  primary  object  of 
faith    set   forth    to   us    in   Holy   Scripture.1      Our 

1 1  select  a  passage  from  a  precious  little  Treatise,  written  many 
years  ago,  to  introduce  here.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is  but  a  selection 
from  more  to  the  same  effect.  "  And  the  Father  and  the  Son  have 
more  specially  appropriated  to  them,  the  promising  the  good  things 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  reveals  and  works :  because  in  free  grace,  a 
purpose  and  promise  must  go  before  the  revelation  and  exhibition 
of  them ;  as  the  Father's  Person,  and  the  Son's,  are  in  order  of  sub- 
sistence, though  not  in  time,  before  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
therefore  I  say,  promising  is  more  specially  appropriated  in  Scrip- 
ture to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son.  And,  as  promising  on  their 
parts,  so  believing  on  our  part,  is  more  specially  appropriated  in 
Scripture  to  them  too :  to  the  Father,  because  the  promises  are  but 
expressions,  and  obligations  of  Himself,  to  perform  His  promises. 
Inasmuch  therefore  as  He  who  is  the  first  person  of  the  three,  as- 
sumes to  Himself  the  purposing  or  decreeing  of  them  all  which  is 
the  first  root  and  rise  of  everything ;  there  is  a  fitness  that  He  also 
should  assume  to  himself  the  promising  of  them ;  inasmuch  as  they 
are  the  issue  and  offspring  of  His  own  good-will.  And  the  Son  being 
heir  to  all  His  Father's,  is  also  heir  to.  His  purposes,  and  promises ; 
and  had  them  all  made  over  to  Him  (as  ye  heard  before),  and  was 
appointed  to  purchase  them  for  us;  and  so  they,  also,  are  His  own  ; 
and  He,  with  the  Father  appropriate  more  specially  to  themselves 
our  believing  in  them,  unto  the  performance  of  the  promises.  And 
the  Father,  though  He  made  over  all  promises  to  the  Son,  and  ap- 
pointed Him  also  to  purchase  them  !  Yet  He  put  not  Himself  out  of 
possession,  though  he  put  His  Son  also  in  with  Himself,  and  gave 
His  Son  another  proper  title  by  purchase;  yet  the  Father  kept  His 
own  title  to  the  promises,  and  so  too  our  believing  in  Him  as  well  as 
the  Son:  which  is  intimated  in  this,  that  He  retains  in  His  own 
Hands  that  promise  of  making  Christ's  enemies  His  foolstool  (Ps. 
110:  1),  which  contains  in  it  also,  the  consummation  of  all  promises 


APPENDIX  265 

Lord  comes  to  us  as  the  human,  or  earthly  repre- 
sentation of  God  the  Father,  "the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ  "  (2  Cor.  4  :  6),  "  The  only  begotten  Son  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared 
Him  "  (John  1  :  18),  or  "  in  His  person,  He  hath 
made  Him  known  or  represented  Him  " — (tfyyiofiat — 
to  declare  in  person).  He  is  so  represented  to  us 
both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  by  our 
Lord  Himself.  In  one  respect,  alone,  is  He  inferior 
to  the  Father,  i.  <?.,  as  He  is  the  Incarnate  God, — so, 
"  My  Father  is  greater  than  I  "  (John  14  :  28).  It 
is  only  so  that  these  words  of  our  Lord  can  be  justly 
interpreted.  We  gather  from  the  teaching  of  our 
Lord,  also,  that,  union  with  the  Father  is  essential 
to  union  with  the  Son,  and  vice  versa.  "  I  in  them, 
and  Thou  in  Me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in 
One  "  (John  17":  23).  So  (John  17 :  9, 10),  "  I  will  that 
those  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me  be  with  Me  where 
I  am,"  and  (John  6  :  65),  "  No  man  can  come  to  Me, 
except  it  were  given  to  him  of  My  Father."  It  is 
to  be  considered  that  Christ,  as  Saviour,  is  the  gift 
of  the  Father.     "  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His  un- 

of  believers,  both  of  justification  and  sanctification  and  resurrection 
from  death  (1  Cor.  15 :  25,  26),  which  God  the  Father  assumes  to  Him- 
self, though  He  executes  and  performs  it  by  Christ  (as  ye  heard  be- 
fore), therefore  Christ  Himself  (though  He  is  at  God's  right  Hand) 
trusts  in  God  (Heb.  10 :  12,  13)  and  so  must  all  believers." 

"  Comfort  for  Believers  about  their  Sin  and  Troubles,"  by  John 
Archer,  sometime  preacher  at  All  Hallows,  Lombard  St.,  London. 

Printed  first  for  John  Marshall  at  the  Bible,  Grace  Church  Street, 
1705.     Reprinted  by  W.  Day,  17  Goswell  St.,  1822. 


266  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

speakable  gift "  (2  Cor.  9  :  15).  So,— He  is  the  full 
declaration  of  God's  character  and  of  His  love  to 
man.  Belief  in  Christ  is  inseparable  from  belief  in 
God  (1  John  2  :  23,  24).  To  deny  the  Son  is  to 
deny  the  Father.  "  By  Him  ye  do  believe  in  God, 
who  raised  Him  up  from  the  dead  and  gave  Him 
glory  that  your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in  God  " 
(1  Peter  1 :  21).  So  also  John  6  :  44,  45.  A  belief 
in  God's  necessary  character  and  attributes  gen- 
erally, and  specially  as  a  merciful  God,  both  in- 
cludes and  anticipates  His  revealed  way  of  mercy. 
Here,  be  it  noticed  that  He  did,  to  Moses,  make  a 
solemn  and  specific  declaration  of  His  character  and 
attributes,  in  which  declaration,  mercy  and  for- 
giveness was  a  conspicuous  element  (Ex.  34  :  18). 
The  same  truth  is  involved  in  the  declaration  of 
our  Lord  that  supreme  love  of  God,  and  the  love 
of  our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  is  "  all  the  law  and 
the  prophets."  Thus,  the  scope  of  God's  Holy 
Word,  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New  Testaments,  sets 
forth  the  fact  that  the  requirement  of  faith  in  God, 
as  First-Cause  and  Supreme  Good,  is  a  primary  re- 
quirement, and  that  such  faith  in  Him  is  a  faith 
unto  salvation. 

"  Have  faith  in  God,"  i.  e.,  absolute  faith  (Mark 
11 :  22).  "  Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  Me  " 
(John  14  : 1),  i.  e.,  with  absolute  belief.  The  proph- 
ecies of  Christ,  in  Holy  Scripture,  in  common 
with  all  other  promises  of  future  good,  are  to  be 
regarded  as  promises  of  God  the  Father  ;  and,  not 


APPENDIX  267 

only  every  promise  of  Christ, — as  to  come, — but 
also  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  disciples  of  Christ 
were  directed  of  Him  to  wait  at  Jerusalem  for  the 
promise  of  the  Father,  "  which,  saith  He,  ye  have 
heard  of  Me  "  (Acts  1  :  4).  The  promises  of  God, 
in  every  case,  emanate  from  His  Divine  personality 
as  Father  of  His  creatures,  and  so  require  faith  in 
that  personality,  as  the  perfect  good.  Throughout 
the  Old  Testament,  entire,  and  absolute  faith,  and 
hope  in  God,  as  chief  good,  is  everywhere  incul- 
cated, and  by  God's  saints  expressed.  "  The  hope 
of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  "  (Ps.  65  :  5).  "  Never- 
theless my  soul  wait  thou  still  upon  God,  for  my 
hope  is  in  Him  "  (Ps.  62  :  5).  "  I  will  hope  in  Thy 
name,  for  it  is  good  before  Thy  saints  "  (Ps.  52  :  9  ; 
33  :  18-22  ;  31  :  24).1  It  is  a  distinctive  character- 
istic of  God's  saints,  as  it  ever  has  been,  that  they 
do,  so,  "set  their  hope  on  God,"  and  ground  all 
their  expectation  upon  Him ;  and  God  has,  for  this 
reason,  made  to  them  special  promises.  "  Because 
he  hath  set  his  love  upon  Me,  therefore  will  I  de- 
liver him  ;  I  will  set  him  up,  because  he  hath  known 

1  We  find  frequent  references,  in  Holy  Scripture,  to  the  "  Name  of 
the  Lord,"  as  an  object  of  trust.  By  this  we  are  to  understand  His 
nature,  being  and  personality,  as  the  alone  and  all-sufficient  ground 
of  human  dependence.  Everything,  for  man  is  here  contained.  We 
are  taught  to  expect  everything  from  God,  to  wait  for  and  to  rest  upon 
Him.  His  nature  and  being  is,  for  us,  the  well-spring  of  good.  I 
will  make  but  one  quotation.  "  Who  is  he  among  you  that  feareth  the 
Lord,  that  obeyeth  the  voice  of  His  servant,  that  walketh  in  dark- 
ness, and  that  hath  no  light?  Let  him  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
and  stay  upon  his  God  "  (Is.  50 :  10). 


268  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

My  Name "  (Ps.  91 :  14).  Moreover,  such  is  the 
discipline  and  teaching  through  which  they  each 
and  all,  now  and  in  all  ages,  do  pass  and  have 
passed  at  His  hands,  that  it  is  designed  of  God  to 
develop  and  to  perfect  that  trust  in  Him  and  that 
choice  of  Him  that  He  has  created  by  His  Holy 
Spirit.  "  They  that  know  Thy  Name  will  put  their 
trust  in  Thee,  for  Thou  Lord  hast  not  forsaken  them 
that  seek  Thee."  So  also  we  find  that  a  specific 
blessing  is  declared  by  the  prophet  (Jer.  17  :  5-8) 
upon  those  who  trust  in  Jehovah,  while  a  specific 
curse  is  pronounced  upon  those  who  "  trust  in  man, 
and  whose  heart  has  departed  from  the  Lord."  Our 
Lord  bases  His  claim  to  man's  belief  upon  Him  (a), 
on  God's  testimony  to  His  personality,  and  upon 
the  fact  that  He  was  sent  of  Him,  and  (b)  upon 
His  miraculous  works,  corroborating  that  testimony 
to  His  personality."  "  This  is  the  work  of  God, 
that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom  He  hath  sent"  (John 
5  :  38  and  John  6  :  17  ad  finem),  "  Whom  He  hath 
sent,  Him  ye  believe  not."  Christ,  as  Saviour,— 
His  propitiatory  sacrifice,  is  in  the  New  Testament 
set  forth  as  "  God's  righteousness,"  even  as  Christ 
is  set  forth  as  "  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world."  That  is  to  say,  the  Lamb 
ordained  and  appointed  of  God.  So,  also,  is  it  said 
that  "  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world 
unto  Himself  "  (2  Cor.  5  :  18,  19). 

Our  Lord  officially  declared  it  to  be  the  will  of 
the  Father,  "  that   whosoever  seeth  the  Son,  and 


APPENDIX  269 

believeth  on  Him  may  have  eternal  life "  (John 
6  :  38,  40).  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  Saviour,  and 
as  the  ultimate  messenger  of  the  Father,  has  dis- 
tinctly ratified  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament 
concerning  God  as  the  Father,  and  the  Supreme 
Good  of  His  creatures,  and  as  the  primary  object 
of  faith. 

Wherefore, — until  the  Incarnation  of  Christ  and 
His  manifestation  as  Saviour  of  men,  the  object  of 
faith  set  before  us  in  Holy  Scripture  is  the  person 
of  God  the  Father,  as  Cause,  and  as  Perfection,  and 
as  the  Father  of  mankind  ;  and  Holy  Scripture  does 
not  justif}'  the  statement  that  all  saving  faith  an- 
tecedent to  the  coming  of  Christ  has  been  faith 
specifically  upon  the  person  of  Christ,  as  promised 
of  God. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  a  restriction  of  salva- 
tion to  faith  in  the  person  of  Christ,  as  necessary  to 
salvation  "at  all  times  since  the  entrance  of  sin," 
would  consign  all  nations  without  the  Scriptures  to 
the  penalty  of  eternal  death,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
deny  the  possibility  of  God  being  known,  loved  and 
obeyed  under  natural  evidences. 

In  regard  to  all  such  inferences  I  will  again  say 
that,  as  erroneous  in  their  character,  and  without 
sanction  by  Holy  Scripture  in  the  Old  or  New  Tes- 
tament, or  by  our  Lord  Himself,  such  a  representa- 
tion of  revealed  religion,  or  rather  a  misrepresenta- 
tion thereof,  has  been  at  least  the  stimulating  cause 
of  the  wide  spread  unbelief  of  Holy  Scripture  which 


as 


270  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

we    witness   and    deplore   at    the    present    day 
coupled   with  a  reaction  against  fundamental  and 
elementary  theism. 

Summary 

(1)  Intrinsically,  and  in  itself  considered,  the 
fact  of  God's  personality,  as  Cause  and  as  Perfec- 
tion, and  His  relation  to  men  as  Father  of  His 
creatures,  comprehends  and  contains,  for  them,  pro- 
vision of  and  security  for  every  good. 

(2)  The  works  of  God  in  creation  and  in  His 
providence  and  care,  do,  in  themselves,  as  addressed 
to  man,  contain  and  present  to  him  adequate  evi- 
dence of  the  existence  and  character  of  God. 

(3)  The  objective  evidence,  so  presented  to  man, 
constitutes  the  minimum  of  theistic  evidences,  as 
ordained  of  God. 

(4)  God's  Holy  Word,  throughout,  corroborates 
and  confirms,  as  it  amplifies  such  evidence  of  God's 
personality,  as  set  forth  by  natural  law,  and  it  in- 
culcates as  truth  vital  to  man,  the  apprehension  and 
acceptance  of  God  as  First-Cause,  and  as  Supreme 
Good. 

(5)  Desire  for,  and  a  sense  of  absolute  need  of 
God,  as  chief  good,  has  characterized  and  does 
characterize  all  God's  saints. 

(6)  A  faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  having  for 
its  object  God's  personalit}T,  embraces  as  it  realizes 
the  fact  of  His  fulness  and  sufficiency. 

(7)  God's   revelation   of   Himself   as  a  God  of 


APPENDIX  271 

mercy  and  as  chief  good,  finds  its  complementum  in 
the  person  and  offices  and  in  the  atoning  work  of 
His  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  such  He  is  set  forth 
to  us  in  the  New  Testament,  as  the  proper  and 
specific  object  of  our  faith,  as  necessary  to  a  true 
faith  in  God, — and  so,  as  faith  unto  salvation. 
(John  5  :  17-31),  "  He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son, 
honoreth  not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  Him." 

(8)  Our  Lord  and  Saviour,  as  the  ultimate  mes- 
senger of  the  Father,  has  corroborated  and  con- 
firmed the  general  evidence  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  concerning  the  personality  of  God,  as 
containing  for  man  the  fulness  of  good.  "And 
this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast 
sent  "  (John  17  :  3). 


CHAPTER  II 

Note  A 

Natural  Religion  as  a  subjective  result  of  objective 
evidences,  and  representing  (1)  duty  to  God,  as 
taught,  and  (#)  duty  to  God,  as  done  under 
Natural  Law. 

The  force  and  value  of  natural  evidences  for  God 
are  frequently  disparaged,  specially  by  rationalistic 
writers.  Also,  natural  religion  is  sometimes  depre- 
ciated in  order  to  exalt  the  Word  of  God,  and  as  a 
reason  for  its  propagation,  as  well  as  an  incentive 
to  missionary  effort. 

The  bearing  of  this  subject  upon  heathen  igno- 
rance, upon  apologetics  and  also  upon  the  missionary 
work  of  the  church,  I  have  made  a  separate  consid- 
eration. Natural  religion,  as  the  subjective  effect  of 
belief  of  objective  evidences  for  theism,  may  be  re- 
garded in  two  chief  and  distinct  aspects.  The  first 
consists  in  duty  taught,  (a)  duty  to  God,  (b)  duty  to 
man.  The  first  aspect  of  natural  religion  includes 
also  the  argument  by  which  such  duty  is  substanti- 
ated, and  proved  as  obligatory.  The  first  and  chief 
argument  to  which  I  have  before  referred  is  a  direct 
argument  in  the  form  of  moral  axioms  clearly  de- 
ducible  from  the  objective  evidences  of  God's  works 

272 


APPENDIX  273 

in  creation ;  as  such  evidence  is  presented  to  a  self- 
conscious  and  free  moral  agent.  Man's  ontological 
and  moral  faculties  are  a  chief  element  and  factor 
in  such  evidence.  The  second  argument  is  an  acces- 
sory and  subordinate  one,  as  it  is  an  analogical  and 
inferential  argument  from  marks  of  design  in 
nature,  as  requiring  a  designer,  and  a  moral  law- 
giver. This  latter  argument  is  used  by  Bishop 
Butler,  and  applied  to  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life 
and  future  rewards  and  punishments ;  also  by  Dr. 
Wayland,  in  his  "Elements  of  Moral  Science,"  but 
chiefly  with  reference  to  God's  moral  government 
in  this  life.  It  is  also  used  by  Archdeacon  Paley  in 
his  evidences  of  Christianity. 

A  second  aspect  of  natural  religion  is  that  of 
duty  done  or  refused,  i.  <?.,  the  concrete,  as  related 
to  the  abstract,  or  the  action  of  the  individual,  and 
the  moral  agent  upon  the  objective  evidence  of  duty 
presented.  St.  Paul  refers  to  this  aspect  of  natural 
religion  in  Kom.  2:12,  speaking  of  those  who  have 
"sinned  without  law,"  and  also  of  those  who,  "hav- 
ing not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves,"  and, 
where  it  is  regarded  as  an  axiomatic  fact  that  there 
is  an  "  uncircumcision  which  has  kept  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  law,"  and  this  is  cited  by  the  apostle  as 
an  actual  fact  of  duty  to  God,  known,  accepted  and 
performed  by  the  light  of  natural  religion.  Its 
effectual  operation  is  there  set  forth  at  large.  Our 
Lord's  teaching  in  Luke  12 :  54-58  is  to  the  same 
effect.     A  large  number  of  instances  might  be  set 


274  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

forth  from  Old  Testament  Scripture ;  it  will  suffice 
to  notice  some  of  them.  I  will  first  notice  what  is 
said  of  Cain.  "  Why  art  thou  wroth,  and  why  is 
thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt 
thou  not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well, 
sin  lieth  at  the  door.  And,  to  thee  shall  be  his  de- 
sire, and  thou  shalt  rule  over  him."  In  this  in- 
stance we  trace  a  distinct  appeal,  and  that  from 
God  Himself,  to  what  Hooker  calls  the  "grand 
mandates,"  or  chief  axioms  of  duty  to  God  and 
duty  to  men,  i.  e.,  to  the  law  of  love,  and  to  the 
moral  law  of  obedience  thereto,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  the  universal  principle  of  natural  religion.  The 
love  which  Cain  owed  to  his  brother  was  Eight,  or 
Well;  the  law  eternal,  peculiar  to  man,  as  under 
law  to  God.  The  breach  of  it  would  be  to  him,  sin, 
and  sin,  as  chosen  and  duty  refused,  would  surely 
entail  condign  punishment.  The  last  sentence, 
"  To  thee  shall  be  his  desire  "  was  a  further  appeal 
to  him  to  "  do  well,"  with  promise  of  corresponding 
results.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  younger 
would  look  up  to,  and  be  led  by  the  elder.  The. 
judgment  following  upon  Cain's  sin  is  further  illus- 
tration of  the  law  of  natural  religion,  and  of  God's 
moral  government  thereby.  The  case  of  Abime- 
lech,  King  of  Gerar,  as  given  in  Gen.  20  is  of  a 
peculiar  force  in  illustration  of  the  principle.  God's 
words  to  Abimelech  shew  that  he  was  a  worshipper 
of  Him,  in  fellowship  with  Him,  and  that  it  was  a 
fact    recognized    by    God,    Himself.     Abimelech's 


APPENDIX  275 

words,  "In  the  integrity  of  my  heart  and  in  the 
innocency  of  my  hands,  I  have  done  this,"  were 
owned  and  accepted  of  God.  The  chapter  through- 
out is  replete  with  evidence.  The  Book  of  Job  is 
characterized  by  such  evidence,  as  everywhere  ac- 
cepted and  axiomatic.  A  brief  epitome  will  mani- 
fest this.  In  Job  4:7,  8  Eliphas  refers  to  the  char- 
acter of  God's  moral  government  as  to  a  fact  well 
known.  "  Remember  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  per- 
ished, being  innocent,  and  where  were  the  righteous 
cut  off  ? "  In  chapter  5  : 6,  7  Eliphas  says  that 
trouble  is  governed  by  law, — and  so  by  a  lawgiver. 
So,  also  that  "He  taketh  the  wise  in  their  own 
craftiness "  (quoted  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Cor.  3 :  19). 
In  chapter  8: 11-13,  Bildad  tells  of  the  results  of  all 
those  "  who  forget  God,"  and  says  that  the  hope  of 
the  ungodly,  or  impious  man  shall  perish.  This  is 
illustrated  by  analogy  of  the  rush  withering.  Chap- 
ter 11 :  13,  20  refers  to  God  as  rewarding  those  who 
seek  Him,  Chapter  17  declares  that  "  the  righteous 
shall  hold  on  his  way,  and  he  that  hath  clean  hands 
shall  become  stronger  and  stronger."  In  chapter 
27  :  8  occurs  a  remarkable  passage,  remarkable  be- 
cause of  what  I  shall  now  refer  to.  The  passage 
reads  as  follows, — "  What  is  the  hope  of  the  im- 
pious (or  wicked)  man  (Yaneph),  though  he  hath 
spoiled  (or  gotten  unlawful  gain)  from  Batsa  to 
tear  in  pieces  (or  plunder)  when  God  draweth  out 
(or  withdraweth)  his  soul  ?  "  (From  Shala  to  draw 
out.)     There   is   great  reason  to  believe  that  our 


276  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

Lord,  when  He  put  the  weighty  question,  "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  soul,  or  what  shall  a  man  give  as  a 
ransom  for  (avrdAAayfia)  his  soul  ?  "  consciously  took 
this  utterance  of  Job  and  reproduced  it  in  an  inten- 
sified form,  and  with  more  direct  reference  to  a 
future  life.  It  ma}^  also  be  considered  that,  in  the 
parable  of  the  rich  fool,  when  God  said  unto  him, 
"  Thou  fool,  this  night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of 
thee  (aTratriai),  then  whose  shall  those  things  be 
which  thou  hast  provided?"  there  is  not  only  a 
parallel  signification,  but  a  reference  to  the  former 
passage  quoted.  The  verb  aneirew,  to  require  back, 
has  precisely  the  same  signification  as  the  Hebrew 
Shala  before  noticed,  in  connection  with  the  act  of 
God  in  withdrawing  the  soul,  or,  taking  back  what 
He  had  deposited  or  given.  The  analogy,  here,  of 
the  withdrawal  of  a  deposit,  is  something  that 
would  be  generally  and  well  understood.  There  is 
a  reference  in  verses  16  and  17  of  this  chapter  to 
the  same  general  subject,  and  to  the  providence  and 
moral  government  of  God.  "  Though  he  (the  un- 
just) heap  up  silver  as  the  dust,  and  prepare  raiment 
as  the  clay,  he  may  prepare  it,  but  the  just  shall 
put  it  on,  and  the  innocent  shall  divide  the  silver." 
It  is  also  important  to  notice  (what  is  implied  in 
the  book  of  Job)  that  God,  in  His  moral  govern- 
ment of  mankind,  by  natural  religion,  is  giving 
object  lessons  to  others  of  the  facts  and  character 
of  that  moral  government,  in  the  results  that  follow, 


APPENDIX  277 

from  a  righteous,  or  from  an  ungodly  life.  Also 
that  Job  and  his  friends  accepted  the  fact  of  God's 
holy  personality,  and  of  His  government  of  the 
world,  physically  and  morally,  by  natural  law. 
The  address  of  Elihu  has  the  same  axiomatic  basis, 
and  it  was  upon  the  basis  of  this  generally  accepted 
truth  that  God,  Himself,  in  speaking  to  Job  summed 
up  the  evidence. 

In  addition  to  the  instances  already  given  may  be 
mentioned  the  appeal  of  Solomon  to  Shimei,  who 
cursed  David.  After  reminding  him  of  the  charge 
he  had  given  him,  the  oath  that  he  had  laid  him 
under,  and  of  the  clemency  he  had  shewed  him,  and 
of  his  own  consent  to  the  stipulation  made  by  Solo- 
mon, saying,  "  The  word  that  I  have  heard  is  good," 
the  king  goes  on  to  say,  "  Why  hast  thou  not  kept 
the  oath  of  the  Lord,  and  the  commandment  that  I 
have  charged  thee  with  ? "  The  king  said,  more- 
over, to  Shimei,  "  Thou  knowest  all  the  wickedness 
that  thine  heart  is  privy  to,  that  thou  didst  unto 
David  my  father.  Therefore,  the  Lord  shall  return 
thy  wickedness  on  thine  own  head."  Thus,  by  the 
force  and  power  of  moral  law,  or  natural  religion 
in  its  operation  upon  the  soul,  as  duty  taught,  by  his 
own  act,  but,  also  under  Divine  providence,  Shimei 
brought  about  his  own  punishment  (1  Kings  2: 
36-45). 

So  of  Joab  in  his  history,  character  and  punish- 
ment (1  Kings  2 :  28-35),  we  have  illustration  of 
the  same  truth  ;  and  Solomon's  words  may  be  re- 


278  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

garded  as  expressive  of  God's  judgment,  under 
natural  religion  and  moral  law.  In  like  manner 
may  be  regarded  David's  prophetic  utterance  upon 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Abner,  at  the  hand  of 
Joab.  "The  Lord  shall  reward  the  doer  of  evil, 
according  to  his  wickedness."  St.  Paul,  in  shewing 
the  comparative  power  of  prophecy,  as  related  to 
the  gift  of  tongues,  says,  "  If  all  prophesy  and  there 
come  in  one  that  believeth  not,  or  one  unlearned,  he 
is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judge  of  all,  and  thus  are 
the  secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest,  and,  so,  fall- 
ing down  on  his  face  will  worship  God  and  confess 
that  God  is  with  you  of  a  truth  "  (1  Cor.  14). 

It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that,  here,  we  not  only 
have  a  statement  of  fact,  by  St.  Paul,  through  the 
Holy  Ghost,  but  also  of  a  truth  accepted  by  the 
Corinthian  Christians,  as  axiomatic,  and,  so,  ad- 
dressed to  all  those  who  acknowledge  the  law  of 
natural  religion.  It  is  further  to  be  remarked  that 
in  all  these  instances  we  are  directed  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  relation  of  objective  evidences  for 
God  (or  natural  theology),  to  the  subjective  oper- 
ation of  the  ontological  or  moral  faculties  of  man, 
to  whom  that  evidence  is  presented  and  addressed, 
as  to  a  moral  and  a  responsible  agent,  and  terminat- 
ing upon  his  moral  nature,  for  good,  or  for  evil 
under  the  law  of  conscience,  and  free  agency,  as 
these  faculties  are  reciprocally  related  to  the  other 
moral  qualities  of  the  soul. 

Further   consideration,   in    this   connection,    will 


APPENDIX  279 

arise  when  we  proceed  to  the  particular  examina- 
tion of  the  functions  of  conscience,  as  it  is  related 
to  free  agency. 


Note  B 
Ontological  Argument 

There  is  a  positive  and  specific  argument  for  ele- 
mentary theism  that  arises  from  the  distinctive, 
ontological  qualities  of  man  as  the  special  handi- 
work of  God.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  do  more  than 
quote  some  passages  embodying  the  facts  of  the 
physiological  evidence,  as  ascertained  by  competent 
specialists  in  that  department. 

Prof.  Richard  Owen  in  his  lecture  on  the  Anthro- 
poid Apes,  delivered  before  the  Ethnological  section 
of  the  British  Scientific  Association,  an  abstract  of 
which  appeared  in  London  Athansem  for  1854,  says, 
"  It  is  not  without  interest  to  observe  that  as  the 
general  forms  of  the  Quadramana  approach  the 
bimonous  order,  they  are  represented  by  fewer 
species.  The  Gibbos  (Hylobates)  scarcely  number 
more  than  half  a  dozen  species,  or  at  most  three. 
The  Chimpanzees  (Troglodytes)  are  represented  by 
two  species.  The  unity  of  the  human  species  is 
demonstrated  by  the  constancy  of  those  osteolog- 
ical  and  dental  characters  to  which  the  attention  is 
more  particularly  directed  in  the  investigation  of 
the  corresponding  character  of  the  higher  quadra- 


280  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

mana.     Man  is  the  sole  species  of  his   genus,  the 
sole  representative  of  his  order.     Professor  Muller 
of  Berlin  says,  "  From  a  physiological  point  of  view 
we  may  speak   of  varieties  of  men  ;  no  longer  of 
races.     Man  is  a  species  created  once,  and  divided 
into  none  of  its  varieties  by  specific  distinction." 
The  Dean  of  Norwich,  Dr.  Lefroy,  at  the  meeting 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  (1895), 
quotes  an  admission  from  Fiske,  which  he  styles  as 
remarkable.     He  says,  "  No  fact  in  nature  is  fraught 
with  deeper  meaning  than  the  two-sided  fact  of  the 
extreme    physical    similarity,   and    the    enormous 
physical  divergence  between  man  and  the  group  of 
animals  next  to  him  in  the  history  of  organic  life." 
All  these  authorities  are  in  harmony  with  what  is 
stated   by   Sir  Wm.   Dawson,  in   enumerating  the 
great  scientific  objections  to  evolution,  and  which  I 
have  given  elsewhere.     With  these  statements,  we 
may  couple  the  language  of  God's  Holy  Word,  as 
to  the  creation  of  man.     "Surely  your   blood   of 
your  lives  will   I  require;  at  the  hands  of  every 
beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at  the  hand  of  man  ;  at 
the  hand  of  every  man's  brother  will  I  require  the 
life   of   man.     Whoso   sheddeth    man's   blood,    by 
man  shall  his  blood  be  shed  ;  for  in  the  image  of 
God    made   He   man."     The   image   of    God   here 
spoken  of  is  that  which  is  referred  to  in  the  account 
of  His  creations  (Gen.  2  :  7).     It  refers,  evidently,  to 
his   ontological  and  distinctive  character  and  ca- 
pacities,  as  created  of    God.     We  are  to  connect 


APPENDIX  281 

what  is  referred  to,  in  the  latter  passage,  with  the 
passage  in  chapter  9.  In  describing  God's  cre- 
ative act,  it  is  said,  "He  breathed  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul." 
Also  what  is  said  in  the  eighth  Psalm,  "  Thou 
madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and 
crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor.  Thou  madest 
him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  Thy 
hands ;  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  immediate  refer- 
ence here  is  to  man  generically  considered,  in  his  re- 
lation to  the  animal  creation.  So,  also,  the  state- 
ment that  he  is  "  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,"  be- 
cause he  is  endowed  with  a  reasonable  soul  and  with, 
moral  and  religious  capacities.  As  Hooker  says, 
"  God  gave  in  creation  a  law  to  everything,  by  which 
it  should  be  governed ;  He  gave  to  man,  as  the 
law  of  his  life,  the  law  of  reason.  By  this  law, 
as  connected  with  moral  capacities,  and  a  determi- 
nating will,  he  is  radically  separated  from  the  ani- 
mals. In  him,  reason,  moral  affection,  and  the 
power  of  choice ;  as  these  qualities  are  correlated 
to  each  other,  in  free  agency,  the  distinctive  and 
specific  unity  of  his  nature  is  manifested  and  de- 
clared. So,  as  a  free  agent,  and  a  responsible  being, 
it  is  declared  of  him,  by  God,  "  I  have  created  him 
for  My  glory  ;  I  have  formed  him  ;  Yea  I  have  made 
him  ""(Is.  43  :  7). 

It  is  of  vital  consequence  to  consider  the  fact  that 
it  is  to  such  a  responsible  being  that  the  evidence 


282  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  God's  existence,  character  and  operations  is  pre- 
sented. It  is  upon  the  sufficiency  of  the  evidence, 
as  related  to  such  moral  capacities  in  those  to  whom 
the  evidence  is  addressed,  and  to  the  fact  of  a  neces- 
sary moral  trial  and  accountability,  that  the  char- 
acter and  cogency  of  Theistic  argument  turns,  and 
by  which  it  must,  necessarily,  be  distinguished.  As 
it  deals  with  objective  moral  truths,  whether  con- 
tained in  nature  or  in  supernatural  evidence,  it 
must  be  connected  with  the  fact  of  the  ontological 
and  moral  capacities  of  a  responsible  agent.  As 
the  character  of  moral  truth  is,  itself,  distinctive 
from  scientific  or  philosophic  truth,  so  of  man's  on- 
tological  qualities.  Modern  pantheism  would  inval- 
idate both  these  distinctions.  But,  both  facts  go  to 
exclude  certitude,  and  demonstration,  as  the  result 
of  evidence  upon  moral  questions  to  a  moral  agent, 
and  both  go  to  require  and  necessitate  a  moral  re- 
sult, in  the  responsible  exercise  of  those  rational 
and  moral  qualities  upon  moral  evidence. 

The  government  and  trial  of  a  moral  agent  re- 
quires an  appeal  by  adequate  evidence  to  the  ra- 
tional faculty,  but  it  equally  requires,  and  in  the 
same  ratio,  an  appeal  to  moral  affection  and  the  self- 
determining  power  of  choice  as  exercised  upon  ob- 
jective evidence.  Such  trial  is  incompatible  with 
mechanical  or  merely  intellectual  certitude  and 
demonstration,  as  it  is  incompatible  with  any  form 
of  necessity  or  compulsion. 

The  argument  for  the  Divine  existence  is  a  moral, 


APPENDIX  283 

as  distinguished  from  a  metaphysical  argument,  al- 
though it  is  a  reasonable  one ;  so,  also  the  argument 
for  a  Personal  Creator  and  Moral  Governor,  as  ad- 
dressed to  a  moral  agent,  is  of  a  like  character,  and 
the  patent  and  undeniable  fact  of  man's  ontological 
and  moral  qualities  can  only  be  satisfactorily  ex- 
plained by  the  cognate  fact  of  a  Personal  and  trans- 
cendent First  Cause  (  not,  "  the  immanent  Reason 
of  the  Universe  "  )  in  whom  all  those  moral  quali- 
ties exist  in  perfection,  and  from  whom  they  are  all 
derived.  The  only  alternative  is  the  assertion  of 
atheism  and  the  irrational  and  moral  impossibility 
that  those  faculties  in  man  are  underived,  and  there- 
fore, themselves  perfect,  or  the  source  of  perfec- 
tion. 

The  moral  government  of  God  is  operative  to  the 
formation  and  determination  of  character  under 
moral  law.  This  can  only  be  done  by  moral  trial, 
in  which  every  faculty  of  the  moral  nature  is  called 
into  exercise,  and  not  merely  the  intellectual  and 
critical  faculty,  but  this  is  the  mechanical  result  of  a 
so  called  theodicy  which  would  neutralize  the  spir- 
itual element  in  objective  theism,  and  in  the  facul- 
ties of  man,  as  it  would  "  fuse"  every  kind  of  truth 
in  one,  and,  actually,  absorb  religious  truth  in  phi- 
losophy and  metaphysics. 

But  the  process  by  which  men  become  members  of 
the  Christian  Church,  and,  consequently,  or  infer- 
entially,  character  is  formed, — according  to  "  Lux 
Mundi " — is  not  a  moral  process  of  intelligent  faith 


284  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

and  moral  affections,  in  obedience  to  Divine  Truth, 
but  by  a  mechanical  process  of  corporate  and  sacra- 
mental grace. 


Note  C 

Negative  Argument  for  Monotheism 

It  is  a  necessary  sequence  from  the  premises  of 
cosmical  evolution,  that  its  advocates  hold  polythe- 
ism to  have  been  the  primitive  religion  of  mankind. 

The  essayists  in  "  Lux  Mundi "  state  this  nega- 
tively rather  than  positively.  This  is  not  difficult 
to  account  for.  Over  against  their  hypothesis,  and 
its  theodicy,  I  wish  to  state  the  negative  argument 
for  monotheism,  from  archaeology  and  other  sources. 
I  think  that  it  has  all  the  force  and  value  so 
claimed  for  it.  I  will  but  remark  that  the  actual 
faith  of  the  individual  is  not,  always,  correctly  de- 
fined by  the  technical  and  critical  definition  of  the 
belief  or  opinions  of  the  creed  with  which  he  is 
classed.  There  is  also,  little  doubt  that  many  have 
been  and  are  believers  in  the  one  living  and  true 
God,  who  are  not  so  described  by  the  tenets  of  the 
society  with  which  they  are  or  have  been  associ- 
ated. A  variety  of  causes  may  and  do  operate  and 
cooperate,  by  reason  of  which  the  actual  facts  do 
not  appear  in  evidence.  Hettinger,  in  his  "  Nat- 
ural Keligion  "  has  gathered  a  variety  of  evidence, 
from  writers  who  have  made  a  specialty  of  archae- 


APPENDIX  2S5 

ology,  from  which  book,  iirst,  I  will  make  some 
quotations.  "  The  more  I  investigate  ancient  his- 
tory, the  more  I  am  convinced  that  among  civilized 
nations  there  existed,  at  the  first,  a  pure  worship  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  that  the  magic  power  of  nature 
gradually  gave  rise  to  polytheism,  and  finally 
wholly  obscured  the  spiritual  conception  of  religion 
in  the  popular  mind  "  (Aug.  W.  Schegel,  Preface 
to  translation  of  Pritchard's  Egyptian  Mythology,* 
p.  16). 

Grimme  (Deutsche  Mythology)  says,  "  The  mono- 
theistic form  of  religion  appears  to  be  the  original 
form,  out  of  which  polytheism  was  subsequently 
developed." 

Max  Mliller  owns  the  prior  existence  of  monothe- 
ism. Yon  Bohlen  maintains  the  same  among  the  Per- 
sians. Lieutenant  Maury,  writing  of  the  Egyptians 
("  Des  Travaux  Modernes  sur  L'Egypt,  "  Reveu  des 
deu  Mondes,  1855)  says,  "  Monotheism  is  still  more 
manifest  in  the  Shuking  of  the  Chinese,  the  Hymns 
of  the  Rig.  Yeda,  and  in  the  Shuter — one  of  the 
most  ancient  records  of  Brahminical  dogma." 
There  is  a  monotheism,  says  Max  Muller,  which  pre- 
cedes the  Polytheism  of  the  Yeda,  and,  even  in  the 
invocation  of  their  innumerable  gods,  the  remem- 
brance of  a  God,  One  and  Infinite,  breaks  through 
the  midst  of  an  idolatrous  phraseology  like  the  blue 
sky,  that  is  hidden  by  passing  clouds  "  (A  History 
of  Ancient  Literature,  Ed.  1885,  pp.  559-568). 

The  late  Duke  of  Argyle,  "  Unity  of  Nature," 


286  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

chapter  of  The  Degradation  of  Man,  says,  that  in 
the  earliest  Yeclic  literature,  Dyans  stood  for  "  The 
Bright  Shining  One,"  or  "  The  Living  Being,  whose 
dwelling  is  the  light " ;  corrupted  afterwards  to 
mean  the  sky. 

The  Aryans,  while  in  their  language  personifying 
the  heavenly  bodies,  did  not  imagine  them  to  pos- 
sess bodies  like  ours,  but  they  used  this  language  as 
most  readily  apprehended.  In  the  Hymn  to  the 
Eising  Sun,  in  the  125th  chapter,  Book  of  the  Dead, 
the  Deity  is  addressed  as  "  Maker  of  Heaven  and 
Earth,"  and  "  The  Self-Existent  One." 

The  Old  Egyptians  regarded  Him  as  the  God  of 
law  and  order,  living  in  the  Truth.  The  God  of 
Justice,  as  the  unchangeable  Law  of  Eight,  in  the 
moral  world,  and  the  God  of  Order,  in  the  physical 
creation.  The  same  is  seen  in  the  theology  of 
the  Yeda  (Eenouf,  Hibbert  Lectures,  1879,  pp. 
197-9.) 

We  are  told  that  amongst  African  tribes,  it  is  a 
constant  saying  that,  formerly,  heaven  was  nearer 
to  man  than  it  is  now  ;  that  the  Highest  Good,  the 
Creator  Himself,  gave,  formerly,  lessons  of  wisdom 
to  human  beings,  but  that,  afterwards,  He  with- 
drew Himself  and  dwells  now  far  from  them  in 
heaven.  All  the  Indian  races  have  the  same  tra- 
dition. 

The  idea  of  "  One  living  and  true  God,  everlast- 
ing "  appears  to  be  a  conception  of  the  human  mind 
deduced   from   objective   nature,    and   from  moral 


APPENDIX  28 1 

intuitions  present  with  man,  universally,  at  all 
periods  of  the  world's  history,  although  in  various 
measures  and  degrees.  Socrates  spoke  of  God  as 
the  Supreme  Wisdom,  and  the  Supreme  Good,  re- 
vealed in  nature.  Plato,  also,  spoke  of  Him  as  the 
Supreme  God,  and  as  the  Supreme  Spirit ;  as  the 
Absolute  and  Perfect  God ;  as  the  Creator.  Aris- 
totle said  that  Good  is  the  Cause  of  all  movement, 
that  He  is  the  fulness  of  life,  and  pure  spirit,  that 
He  is  an  object  worthy  of  thought  in  Himself,  that 
He  is  the  Supreme  Good,  and  the  Source  of  Life. 

Fechner  remarks  that  "  propagation  spreads  truth 
and  destroys  error  "  ;  "  The  grand  fable  of  God  and 
the  life  to  come  would  never  have  been  so  widely 
established  if  it  had  been  but  a  fable."  The  relig- 
ion of  ancient  Egypt  is  the  best  known  criterion  of 
the  religion  of  primitive  man,  and  brings  us  nearest 
to  prehistoric  times,  but  the  recent  archaeological 
discoveries,  as  the  result  of  excavations  at  different 
points,  has  not  only  put  us  in  possession  of  facts  in 
regard  to  ancient  literature  wholly  unexpected,  but 
may  soon  revolutionize  conclusions  on  this  particu- 
lar point.  We  may,  at  least,  assert  a  negative  con- 
clusion against  polytheism,  from  facts  in  our  pos- 
session as  to  ancient  Egypt.  M.  Renouf  in  his 
Hibbert  Lectures,  1879,  says  that  the  maxims  of 
Ptahitets  are  considered,  without  doubt,  to  be  the 
most  ancient  book  in  the  world.  It  was  written  as, 
far  back  as  the  fifth  dynasty,  and  refers  back  to  a 
yet  earlier  period.     These  maxims  not  only  incul- 


288  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

cate  a  pure  morality,  but  they  make  distinct  refer- 
ence to  the  personality  of  God.  They  speak  of  God 
forbidding  and  of  God  commanding.  A  few  quota- 
tions will  shew  that  they  understood  of  the 
existence  of  a  Supreme  Personality.  "The  field 
which  the  great  God  hath  given  thee  to  till."  "  If 
any  one  behave  himself  proudly,  he  will  be  humbled 
by  God,  who  maketh  his  strength."  "  Thy  treasure 
has  grown  unto  thee  by  the  gift  of  God."  "  The 
magnanimous  man  is  the  object  of  God's  regard, 
but  he  who  listens  to  his  belly  is  scorned  by  his 
own  wife."  "If  thou  art  a  wise  man,  bring  up  thy 
son  in  the  love  of  God."  "  God  loveth  the  obedient 
and  hateth  the  disobedient." 

Such  language  could  only  be  used  of  a  person- 
ality. M.  Emmanuel  de  Eouge  has  a  very  high 
rank  as  a  scholar  and  Egyptologist.  He  says,  "  No 
one  has  called  in  question  the  fundamental  meaning 
of  the  passages  by  the  help  of  which  we  are  able  to 
establish  what  ancient  Egypt  has  taught  concerning 
God,  the  world  and  man.  I  said  God, — not  the 
gods.  The  first  characteristic  of  the  religion  is  the 
unity  of  God,  One,  Sole  and  Only ;  no  other  with 
him.  He  is  the  only  Being,  living  in  Truth.  Thou 
art  One,  and  millions  proceed  from  Thee."  "He 
has  made  everything  and  He  alone  is  not  made." 
"The  clearest,  the  simplest,  the  most  precise  con- 
ceptions." Although  the  Egyptian  religion,  under 
Menes,  included  many  regions,  each  having  its  own 
local  deity,  designated  by  a  particular  name,  one 


APPENDIX  289 

idea  predominated  in  all ;  that  of  a  simple  primeval 
God,  everywhere  and  always  it  is  one  substance, 
self-existent,  and  an  incomprehensible,  unapproach- 
able God."  It  is  the  opinion  of  M.  Renouf,  and  of 
Max  Muller  also,  that  pantheism,  and  ultimately 
polytheism,  supervened.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this, 
the  ancient  and  primeval  conception  was  that  of  a  pure 
monotheism  such  as  the  Holy  Scriptures  reveal. 

"  Horus  and  Ra,  and  Osiris  and  Set  are  names  of 
individual  and  finite  powers,  but  a  power  without 
a  name,  or  any  mythological  character  is  constantly 
referred  to  in  the  singular  number,  and  can  only  be 
regarded  as  the  object  of  that  immediate  perception 
of  the  Infinite,  which,  like  my  learned  predecessor 
Max  Muller,  I  consider  not  the  result  of  reason,  or 
generalizing,  but  an  intuition  as  irresistible  as  the 
impressions  of  our  senses  "  (ftenouf,  Hibbert  Lec- 
tures, 1879). 

I  am  content,  from  the  archaeological  stand- 
point, to  maintain  a  negative  argument  against 
evolutionists  as  to  the  priority  of  polytheism  in  the 
religion  of  mankind,  and  that  monotheism  and 
Christianity  have  been  "  evolved  "  from  it. 

The  discovery  of  the  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets, 
and  recent  excavations,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  especially,  have  mate- 
rially added  to  the  evidence  herein  referred  to,  and 
further  strengthened  the  cause  of  Biblical  Theism. 
Archaeology  is  accessory  to  the  positive,  and  direct 
argument,    which   I    will   state   hereafter.     I   will 


21)0  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

but  direct  attention  to  some  results  which  are  in- 
separable from  the  hypothesis  of  evolution.  The 
theology  of  evolution,  as  taught  by  "  Lux  Mundi," 
while  it  allows  the  unity  of  God,  as  truth,  yet  does 
so  present  the  argument  for  that  unity  as  a  fact, 
that  its  character  and  order  in  the  moral  economy 
of  the  world  is  necessarily  affected  and  changed 
thereby  ;  it  is,  in  effect,  transposed.  The  results  of 
such  doctrine  as  related  to  the  primary  truth  of  the 
Divine  character  and  government,  are  several  and 
important.  First,  it  leaves  us  without  any  author- 
ized and  Divine  statement  as  to  the  creation  of 
man,  as  it  antagonizes  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
Creation,  and,  in  fact,  declares  it  to  be  a  fable. 
Secondly,  it  essentially  changes  all  the  authorized 
and  inspired  statements  concerning  the  plan  of 
God's  moral  government  of  the  world, — and,  even  of 
the  Divine  character.  Thirdly,  it  revolutionizes  the 
wThole  character  of  the  New  Testament,  as  a  reve- 
lation of  God, — because  it  practically  nullifies  the 
force  and  authority,  as  also  the  reliability  of  the 
law  and  the  prophets.  But,  as  the  hypothesis  not 
only  destroys  the  unity  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments, but  is  inherently  antagonistic  to  the  teach- 
ing, character  and  personality  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  as  it  cannot  be  made  to  harmonize  either 
with  primary  theistic  truths,  or  their  ultimate  and 
perfect  revelation  in  and  by  Him,  as  also  in  and  by 
Holy  Scripture,  it  is,  both  logically  and  scriptur- 
ally,  untenable  and  self -condemned. 


APPENDIX  291 

Note  D 

Positive    Value  of  Theistie  Evidences  as  Ad- 
dressed to  a  Moral  Agent 

In  taking  an  analytical  view  of  natural  religion 
as  related  to  Theism,  I  have  remarked  that  one 
aspect  thereof  may  be  regarded  as  describing  duty 
taught,  as  it  is  applied  to  the  human  mind.  Herein 
we  include  both  the  object  and  the  subject ;  the  evi- 
dence itself,  and  the  beings  to  whom  it  is  addressed. 
The  evidence  specially  contemplated  herein  is  all  of 
objective  nature,  although  the  Providence  of  God, 
as  related  to  that  evidence  cannot  be  excluded. 
This  evidence  is  addressed  not  alone  to  man's  intel- 
lect, but  also  to  all  of  his  moral  nature,  specially  to 
his  will,  but  to  each  of  his  moral  faculties  as  they 
are  necessarily  correlated  to  each  other.  Hence, 
we  are,  here,  considering  the  operation  and  subjec- 
tive effect  of  intrinsic  and  extrinsic  evidence.  In 
presenting  the  theistie  argument  for  the  existence 
of  God,  it  is  inevitably  necessary  to  distinguish  be- 
tween what  is  termed  a  priori  and  a  posteriori  evi- 
dence, but,  as  has  been  said,  there  is  and  can  be  no 
purely  a  priori  argument,  for  the  reason  that  the 
mind  of  man  is,  necessarily,  more  or  less  affected, 
although  insensibly,  by  objective  evidence. 

Thomas  Aguinas  as  quoted  by  Hettinger  in  his 
"Natural  "Religion"  says,  "In  all  knowledge  there 
are  two  factors ;  the  faculty  that  knows,  and  the 
object   known."     "  This   faculty, — the   mind — like 


292  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

the  eye,  can  only  see  the  objects  that  come  within 
range  of  its  vision.  Thus,  all  knowledge  is,  pri- 
marily objective  and,  as  we  are  constituted,  derived 
from  sense  objects.  Thus,  there  is  the  force  of  the 
axiom,"  "  Nihil  in  intellectu,  nisi  prius  in  sensu." 
Hence  any  ex-parte  view  of  the  evidence  is  inad- 
missable  and  illogical.  I  mean  that  it  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  merely  a  mental,  but  as  a  moral  propo- 
sition, and,  as  presented  to  a  moral  and  responsible 
agent.  Both  the  works  of  God  in  creation,  and  the 
fact  of  His  providence  as  Creator,  are  presented  as 
facts  in  evidence  to  the  whole  of  his  moral  nature 
as  unto  one  who  is  amenable  to  God  as  moral  gov- 
ernor. It  is  in  view  both  of  the  adequacy  of  the 
extrinsic  evidence,  and  of  his  intrinsic  capability  of 
estimating  and  receiving  that  evidence,  that  he  is, 
hereafter,  to  be  tried.  Here  then,  we  may  properly 
first  refer  to  what  Dr.  Chalmers  has  termed  "  The 
Ethics  of  religious  enquiry."  Here,  we  particularly 
regard  the  force  of  the  evidence  as  addressed  to  a 
reasonable  soul,  and  demanding,  from  its  character 
and  importance,  a  due  and  diligent  attention.  I 
quote  a  few  sentences  from  Dr.  Chalmers  on  this 
subject.  "  The  Discerner  of  hearts  sees  whether, 
for  the  blessings  innumerable  wherewith  He  has 
strewed  the  path  of  every  man,  He  be  treated  like 
the  unknown  benefactor  who  was  diligently  sought, 
or  like  the  unknown  benefactor  who  was  never 
cared  for."  "  The  eye  of  a  heavenly  witness  is  on 
all  these  varieties,  and,  thus,  whether  it   be  dark- 


APPENDIX  293 

ness,  or  whether  it  be  dislike  which  hath  caused  a 
people  to  be  ignorant  of  God,  there  is  with  Him  a 
clear  principle  of  judgment  that  He  can  extend 
even  to  the  outfields  of  atheism "  (pp.  72,  73, 
Chalmer's  Natural  Keligion). 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  such  an  appeal  is 
never  made  to  man's  reason,  only  ;  it  is,  also,  to  his 
moral  affections  and  sense  of  duty.  It  is  presented 
to  him  as  what  he  ought  to  do,  and  such  an  appeal 
to  his  sense  of  right  and  of  wrong  is  not  and  can- 
not ever  be  separated  from  an  appeal  to  his  will. 
It  is  under  both  these  conditions  of  adequate  ob- 
jective evidence,  and  of  ontological  qualities  of  a 
distinctive  character  adapted  to  that  evidence,  that 
he  must,  necessarily,  be  tried.  The  anti-theistic 
and  rationalistic  arguments  put  forth  against  Bib- 
lical and  elementary  theism  very  generally  ignore 
both  the  force  in  the  evidence  itself  and  in  man's 
ontological  character,  and  proceed  upon  the  ground 
that  it  is  to  be  treated  simply  as  an  intellectual  and, 
what  may  be  termed  a  mechanical  proposition  by 
which  nothing  is  to  be  accepted  as  true  that  is  not 
capable  of  absolute  demonstration.  This,  I  say,  is 
a  prime  fallacy,  both  by  reason  of  the  subject  mat- 
ter in  evidence,  intrinsically  regarded,  and  also  for 
the  equally  decisive  and  sufficient  reason  that  under 
such  conditions,  moral  trial  of  man  would  be  im- 
possible. That  man  is  possessed  of  moral  capaci- 
ties of  knowledge,  affection  and  the  power  of  choice 
between    what   is   ri^ht   and    what  is   wrong,   is   a 


29i  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

tangible  and  undeniable  fact.  It  is,  also,  a  self- 
evident  fact  that  moral  habit  and  choice,  as  exer- 
cised on  moral  truths,  mature  and  determine  char- 
acter. It  follows,  therefore,  that  such  trial  of 
character  must  turn  upon  the  moral  conditions  of 
faith,  or  unbelief,  as  exercised  upon  moral  and 
spiritual  objects,  and  not  upon  subjective  and  purely 
intellectual  certitude  ;  and  as  this  is  an  inherent  and 
necessary  sequence  from  the  premises,  so  is  it  the 
conditions  asserted  in  the  Word  of  God.  Lastly, 
as  this  is  the  answer  to  be. given  to  the  positivist 
and  philosophic  sceptic,  so,  to  the  agnostic  and  lati- 
tudinarian,  it  is  to  be  said  that,  as  ignorance,  moral 
uncertainty,  or  speculative  hypotheses  are  unneces- 
sary, because  evidence  is  present  and  available,  and 
to  it  man  is  morally  subject.  So,  such  plea,  or  ar- 
gument of  ignorance  in  respect  of  necessary  knowl- 
edge is  both  inadmissable  by  reason,  as  it  is  also 
disallowed  of  God  in  Holy  Scripture.  I  have  be- 
fore instanced  the  truth  taught,  by  the  conjunctive 
influence  and  operation  of  extrinsic  and  intrinsic 
evidence,  duty  to  God  may  be  and  has  been  not 
only  taught,  but  accepted  or  rejected  of  man  by 
the  law  of  natural  religion.  Not  only  does  Holy 
Scripture  teach  us  as  to  the  actual  reason,  or  cause 
of  ignorance  and  moral  estrangement  from  God 
and  holiness,  but  palpable  facts,  and  the  experience 
of  mankind  go  to  shew  that,  in  every-day  life,  a 
man's  predilections,  or  his  antipathies  warp  his  judg- 
ment ;  while  in  questions  of  moral  principle,  or  of 


APPENDIX  295 

passion  and  self-interest,  his  determinating  choice 
and  course  of  action  is  habitually  and  generally 
governed  not  by  his  reason,  but  by  his  wayward 
passion  and  self-will.  The  bearing  of  this  fact 
upon  the  subject  before  us  is  very  apparent.  I 
quote  from  Hettinger's  Natural  Keligion  (p.  29) 
some  observations  to  this  effect.  "  In  all  human 
science  and  knowledge,  the  will  is  the  immediate 
and  principal  agent.  For  it  is  the  will  that  finally 
determines  the  intelligence  and  which  by  its  own 
power  can  reject  any  conclusion  whether  necessary 
or  deduced"  (Ulrici).  "The  human  intellect  is  not 
a  dry  light,  but  receives  a  tincture  from  the  will 
and  affections  ;  hence  it  generates  knowledge  in  ac- 
cordance with  its  wishes ;  for  what  a  man  would 
rather  is  true,  that  he  will  the  more  readily  be- 
lieve "  (Lord  Bacon,  Nov.  Organ,  No.  1  :  49). 

Hobbs  says,  u  If  men  had  any  interests  at  stake 
they  would  doubt  and  deny  the  maxims  of  Euclid." 
"  So,  there  are  only  two  alternatives.  A  man  either 
desires  to  know  the  truth,  or  he  dreads  to  do  so. 
In  proportion  to  his  moral  declensions,  he  hates  the 
truth  which  condemns  him,  and  strives  to  silence  its 
reproaches.  But,  he  who  fears  not  its  voice  re- 
ceives with  its  accents  light  from  above."  It  can- 
not be  denied  that  the  mind  of  man  is  naturally 
indisposed  to  admit  objective  evidence,  specially 
upon  moral  and  religions  questions,  that  is  not  only 
contrary  to  his  wishes,,  but  as  such  is  not  favorable 
to  him   in   the  court  of  conscience  as  a  moral  and 


296  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

accountable  agent.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the 
will  of  man,  if  it  be  true  that  a  man  is  known  and 
characterized  by  what  he  loves, — specially  as  ap- 
plied to  moral  objects — as  the  act  of  the  will  is  the 
terminating  point  at  which  the  character  of  an 
action  finally  receives  its  value  and  impress,  it  must 
be  particularly  true  that  the  determinating  act  of 
the  will  not  only  affects,  but  also  characterizes  the 
judgment  passed  upon  the  evidence  in  accordance 
with  the  matured  act  and  maturing  character  of 
the  individual  Ego.  The  determinating  act  of  the 
will  that  decides  to  accept,  or  to  reject,  to  do  or  not 
to  do,  not  only  characterizes  the  morality  of  the 
action  as  right  or  wrong ;  it,  at  the  same  time 
stamps  the  objective  evidence  upon  which  such  de- 
terminative act  is  based  in  various  degrees,  as  true 
or  false,  as  related  to  the  individual  so  acting  and 
determining,  as  he  acknowledges,  or  refuses  to 
acknowledge  and  to  act  upon  the  evidence.  It  is 
this  act  of  the  will  that  is  referred  to  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  when  he  says  (chapter  5 :  20),  "  Wo 
to  them  that  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil,  that  put 
darkness  for  light  and  light  for  darkness."  So  also, 
"  Wo  to  them  that  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes  and 
prudent  in  their  own  sight."  So  also  Solomon  says, 
"  He  that  saith  to  the  wicked,  Thou  art  righteous, 
him  shall  the  people  curse;  nations  shall  abhor 
him."  What  a  man  has  decided  to  do,  he  has  also 
decided,  in  measure  at  least,  to  justify  and  to 
defend.     When   a  man  is  in  such  a  moral  attitude 


APPENDIX  297 

towards  truth,  and  evidence  presented  to  him,  that 
he  is  biased  against  the  evidence,  he  is  like  a  packed 
jury  that  cannot  give  an  impartial  verdict.  I  find 
that  Professor  Flint  considers  the  positive  and  con- 
clusive argument  for  theism  is  such  as  I  have  herein 
expressed,  and  that  it  includes  both  objective  and 
subjective  evidence.  He  states  it  as  follows, — "  Our 
entire  spiritual  being  is  constituted  for  the  appre- 
hension of  God  through  His  works.  All  the  essen- 
tial principles  of  mental  action  when  applied  to  the 
meditative  consideration  of  finite  things  lead  up 
from  them  to  the  Infinite  Creative  Wisdom.  The 
Avhole  of  objective  nature  within  us  has  been  made 
for  the  reception  and  interpretation  of  that  revela- 
tion. What  more  would  we  have?"  (Theism  Sec. 
3,  p.  379).  Also  on  page  358,  in  giving  one  of  the 
various  definitions  of  faith  he  says,  "This  kind  of 
faith  (or  trust  in  a  person)  like  all  other  faith, 
ought  to  rest  on  the  assent  of  the  intellect  to  evi- 
dence, although  what  is  characteristic  of  it  is  to  be 
found,  not  in  the  intellect,  but  in  the  emotions  and 
will.  Since  it  constitutes  and  produces,  however, 
spiritual  experience,  it  is  a  condition  and  source,  as 
well  as  a  consequence  of  knowledge.  There  can,  in 
fact,  be  no  profound  religious  knowledge  because 
no  vital  religion  without  it."  This  is  an  important 
statement,  and  admission,  and  I  quote  it  with  assent 
and  approval ;  but  I  have  had  occasion,  elsewhere, 
to  shew  that  the  general  tenor  of  the  author's 
teaching  in  regard  to  religious  faith  and  knowledge 


298  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

is  not  in  accordance  therewith.  In  fact  the  dis- 
tinctive characteristic  which  he  here  admits  is,  else- 
where, at  least  ignored. 

I  have  before  referred  to  the  fact  that  Principal 
Tulloch,  in  his  prize  essay  on  Theism,  made  all  the- 
istic  evidences  to  culminate  in  moral  intuitions  as 
bearing  witness  to  God.  By  this  term,  however, 
is  to  be  understood,  not  immediate  intuitions,  in- 
herent in  and  derived  only  from  the  mind  itself, 
but,  such  intuitions  as  are  the  result  of  the  complex 
and  conjoint  evidence  of  the  whole  of  objective 
nature,  and  all  of  man's  distinctive  ontological  and 
moral  nature,  as  hereinbefore  stated.  I  will  here 
quote  his  language  on  this  point.  "  And  in  thus 
abandoning  all  claim  to  demonstration,  the  evidence 
for  the  being  of  a  God,  so  far  from  being  weakened, 
is  strengthened.  For  in  all  our  knowledge  there  is 
and  can  be  no  higher  warrant  for  reality  than  the 
grasp  of  intuition.  What  the  soul  thus  holds  by 
immediate  presentation  is,  and  must  be,  its  most 
living  possession,  the  source  of  all  its  own  elaborate 
notions,  and  in  comparison  with  which  they  are 
merely  shadows.  And  thus  it  deserves  to  be  added, 
the  great  truth  of  the  existence  of  God  is  preserved 
as  a  truth  of  religion  encompassed  with  a  radiance 
of  evidence  which  only  the  wilfully  blind  can  fail 
to  see,  yet  not  mathematically  demonstrated,  that, 
or  in  order  that  they  who  devoutly  seek  the  light 
may  have  gladness  and  reward  in  its  discovery  " 
(Prize  Essay  on  Theism,  p.  336). 


APPENDIX  2!>!> 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  not  only  does  naturalism, 
as  Mr.  Balfour  says,  afford  no  provision  for  the 
esthetic  and  ethical  part  of  man's  nature,  but  it 
seeks  to  abolish  all  radical  distinction  between  right 
and  wrong,  and  so  do  away  with  any  necessity  for 
the  supply  of  such  want.  This  substitute  for  Ethics, 
Hedonism  or  Utilitarianism,  is  fully  answered  by 
Mr.  W.  H.  Lilly  in  his  book  on  Eight  and  Wrong. 
Cousin's  Lectures  on  the  True,  the  Beautiful,  and 
the  Good,  set  forth  to  my  mind  most  clearly  and 
satisfactorily  what  may  be  said  to  be  the  whole 
evidence  for,  and  operation  of  natural  religion  from 
the  moral  intuitions  and  psychical  characteristics  of 
man,  as  exercised  upon  objective  evidence  for  God. 
I  will  give  a  brief  epitome.  M.  Cousin  remarks  in 
this  connection  that  reason  and  reasoning  are  dif- 
ferent things.  Briefly  stated,  Keason  in  man  as 
the  distinctive  faculty  and  the  law  divine  of  his 
life,  although  it  is  in  man,  has  its  root  and  origin 
in  the  absolute  and  the  infinite.  In  this  sense  man 
is  made  in  God's  image.  In  this  sense,  we  in  Him 
(literally)  "  live  and  move  and  have  our  being." 
Thus,  as  Cousin  says,  our  moral  intuitions,  or  spon- 
taneous intuitions  are  the  true  logic  of  nature. 
They  require  as  they  admit  of  no  demonstration. 
They  are  of  God,  and  lead  up  to  Him.  So  of  truth ; 
what  is  true  of  the  concrete  is  true  of  the  abstract. 
The  foundation  or  the  ultimate  source  of  truth  is 
what  he  terms  necessary  and  universal  principles, 
and  as  the  faculty  of  reason,  in  us,  apprehends  finite- 


300  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

truth  as  existent,  such  necessary  and  universal  prin- 
ciples lead  us  to  God  by  the  light  of  reason,  as  the 
law  of  man's  being. 

Thus,  the  existence  and  personality  of  God  is  a 
primary  truth,  the  basis  of  natural  religion  as  it  is 
addressed  to  moral  agents.  Yet,  although  attested 
by,  and  in  conformity  to  reason,  it  appeals  to  man 
chiefly  and  distinctively  by  moral  evidence,  and  by 
appeal  to  his  moral  nature,  and,  as  we  apprehend 
by  our  ontological  and  moral  faculties,  those  uni- 
versal principles  of  truth,  beauty  and  goodness,  they 
not  only  lead  us  up  to  God's  personality,  in  whom 
they  all  originate,  but  as  those  moral  qualities  and 
objects  commend  themselves  to  our  moral  nature, 
these  affections  and  desires  of  the  human  soul  can 
find  their  satisfaction  onlv  in  moral  relationship  to 
Him. 

No  substantial  addition  can  be  made  to  the  ju- 
dicious and  admirable  statement  of  Hooker — as 
already  stated. 


Note  E 

Of  the  Knowledge  of  God 

I  have  already  referred  to  a  depreciation  of 
natural  evidences  for  God,  from  an  erroneous 
conception  of  their  proper  relation  to  revealed 
truth  (1)  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  (2)  as  such 
evidences,  both  in  nature  and  in  the  Old  Testament, 


APPENDIX  301 

stand  related  to  the  person  of  our  Saviour  and  to 
the  New  Testament. 

In  the  present  remarks  upon  Divine  knowledge, 
I  wish  to  refer  to  a  cognate  error  to  those  already 
spoken  of,  viz.,  to  a  depreciation  of  natural  evidences 
objective  and  subjective,  in  order  to  magnify  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament,  and  to  put  them 
in  contrast  with  the  law  of  conscience,  specially 
under  natural  evidences.  It  is  first  to  be  remarked 
that  the  knowledge  of  God,  spoken  of  in  Holy 
Scripture  is  of  two  kinds.  We  read  of  a  knowledge 
of  God  that  is  available,  and  objective  in  character. 
This  is  of  various  degrees  in  its  extent  and  involves 
proportionate  responsibility.  As  distinguished  from 
a  saving  and  effectual  knowledge,  it  carries  with  it 
a  sense  of  such  responsibility,  and  a  sense  of  dut}^, 
merely.  Such  available  knowledge  is,  everywhere 
in  Holy  Scripture,  made  chargeable  against  sinners, 
whether  in  heathen  or  in  Christian  lands.  St.  Paul 
says  of  the  heathen  that  "  they  knew  God,  yet  they 
did  not  glorify  Him  as  God,  neither  were  thankful  " 
(Rom.  1 :  21).  Again,  he  says,  "  Have  they  not 
heard  ?  Yea  verily,  as  it  is  written,  Their  sound 
went  forth  unto  all  lands,  and  their  words  unto  the 
end  of  the  world  "  (Rom.  10  :  18).  Again,  speaking 
at  Lystra,  Paul  and  Barnabas  said,  "  Nevertheless 
He  left  not  Himself  without  witness,  in  that 
He  did  good,  sending  us  rain  from  heaven  and 
fruitful  seasons,   filling  our  hearts  with  food  and 


302  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

gladness"  (Acts  14:17).  So  also  our  Lord  (Matt. 
5  :  45).  Of  such  available  knowledge  of  God,  as  en- 
joyed by  the  Jews,  or  in  previous  Christian  era,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  speak.  I  will  only  say  that, 
whether  under  the  light  of  nature,  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, or  under  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  it  is  identical 
in  character,  though  not  in  degree. 

There  is  another  kind  of  knowledge  referred  to 
in  Holy  Writ.  This,  as  a  result  of  objective 
evidences,  in  various  degrees,  is  a  true  and  saving- 
knowledge.  The  knowledge  before  spoken  of  was 
resultant  in  conviction,  merely,  and  a  sense  of  duty 
and  responsibility  ;  this  is  resultant  in  moral  and 
spiritual  obedience  of  the  heart  unto  righteousness, 
and  what  flows  from  it,  i.  e.,  holy  fellowship  with 
God.  This  knowledge  the  wicked  have  not,  be- 
cause they  have  refused  it.  This  sin  is  charged 
against  all  unconverted  sinners.  So,  Jeremiah  says 
(10  :  25)  "  Pour  out  Thy  wrath  upon  the  heathen 
that  have  not  known  Thee,  and  the  kingdoms  that 
have  not  called  on  Thy  name."  Why  is  such  judg- 
ment denounced  against  them  ?  Because  they  re- 
fused to  know,  or  call  upon  Him.  Similarly  St. 
Paul  said  of  the  Jews  who  crucified  our  Lord  and 
Saviour,  "  Because  they  knew  Him  not,  nor  the 
voices  of  the  prophets  which  are  read  every  Sab- 
bath day,  they  have  fulfilled  them  in  condemning 
Him"  (Acts  13:27).  See  also  Luke  19:41,42. 
Similarly  is  the  language  of  Pharaoh  to  be  inter- 
preted, "I  know  not  the  Lord,  neither  will  I  let 


APPENDIX  303 

Israel  go."     It  is  the  language  of  deliberate  rejec- 
tion of  God,  and  of  His  claims. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  characteristic  of  the 
righteous,  not  only  that  they  have  an  intelligent 
and  highly  spiritual  perception  of  God's  character 
and  claims  upon  them,  but  that  they  have,  through 
grace,  yielded  their  hearts  to  Him,  and  also  chosen, 
and  so  approved  of  His  precepts.  It  is  also  to  be 
noticed  that  God,  on  His  part,  so  knows  them  that 
He  approves  of  them,  and  regards  them  with  special 
favor,  and  they  are  brought  into  holy  reciprocity  of 
feeling  and  moral  relationship  with  Him  (1  Cor. 
8  :  3  and  Gen.  18  :  17-19).  As  they  love  God  and, 
through  grace,  make  choice  of  Him  and  His  ways, 
so  God,  on  His  part,  loves  them  and  approves  of 
them.  It  is  the  distinctive  feature  of  the  condition 
of  the  righteous  that  their  "  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,"  as  that 
they  are  the  subjects  of  His  transforming  grace. 
I  do  not  enlarge  upon  this,  to  us,  familiar  truth, 
but  I  would  say  that,  although  this  is  brought  into 
clearer  light  by  the  New  Testament,  we  should  err 
in  supposing  that  it  is  a  blessing  singular  to  the 
saints  of  the  Christian  era.  As  many  who  have  not 
known  the  written  word  will  be  saved  "  without 
law,"  and  without  actual  knowledge  of  a  personal 
Saviour,  or  of  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation,  and,  conse- 
quently, we  may  say  also,  without  the  same  degree  of 
spiritual  enjoyment,  yet,  will  they  be  saved  through 
His  death  and  merits  ;  and,  so,  also  many  that  have 


304  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

not  known  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Spirit's  work,  and  His  relation  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  have  yet  been  subjects  of  the  saving  work  of 
that  one,  and  the  self-same  spirit  who  "  sanctifieth 
all  the  elect  people  of  God." 

It  is,  therefore,  illegitimate  to  seek  to  establish  a 
necessary   contrast   between  the  law  of  conscience 
and  the  law  of  faith,  for  Holy  Scripture  draws  no 
such  contrast.     Natural  evidences  of  God  may,  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  enlighten  and  direct  the  conscience 
and  cause  it  to  be  governed  by  the  faith  of  those 
evidences,  so  given  of  God,  and  such  faith  is  ac- 
ceptable to  Him,  and  conscience  voices  to  the  soul 
the  fact  of  God's  approval.     We  may  affirm  that  a 
true  and  a  sincere  obedience  to  the  law  of    con- 
science, and  to  the  light  possessed  and  attainable,  is 
always  acceptable  to  and  rewarded  of  God ;  and,  as 
a  moral  act  and  habit  of  life  it  is,  as  is  every  good 
in  men,  the  fruit  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  upon 
the  whole  moral  nature,  so  enlightened  and  governed. 
A  remarkable  instance  of  the  error  I  here  refer  to 
is  found  in  part  of  Dr.  Thos.  Goodwin's  treatise  on 
"  The  Work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  Salvation  " 
(Goodwin's  works,  Yol.  YI).     His  teaching  in  re- 
gard to  the  knowledge  of  God  under  natural  evi- 
dences, and  the  law  of  conscience,  as  related  thereto, 
is  injurious  to   fundamental  principles  of   theism. 
His  exegesis  of  Genesis  20,  involving  the  character 
of  Abimelech,  King  of  Gerar,  and  his   relation  to 
God,  and  also  his  exegesis  of  Acts  23,  where  St. 


APPENDIX  305 

Paul  says,  "  I  have  lived  in  all  good  conscience  be- 
fore God  unto  this  day,"  and  which  he  so  interprets 
as  to  support  his  inferences,  I  can  only  compare  to 
the  language  of  Bishop  Gore  in  regard  to  our  Lord's 
attitude  towards  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  At 
the  same  time  I  would  express  my  sense  of  the 
excellency  of  the  rest  of  the  volume.  The  same 
error  as  to  the  force  and  value  of  natural  evidences 
shewn  in  a  depreciation  of  natural  theology,  natural 
religion,  and  in  false  exegesis  of  Holy  Scripture, 
both  doctrinal  and  historical,  bearing  upon  this 
subject,  is  found  in  writers  whose  works  in  other 
respects  are  deservedly  held  in  great  esteem.  Thus, 
Dr.  Thos.  Manton  in  his  sermons  on  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  has  remarks 
of  a  similar  character  in  regard  to  the  knowledge 
and  faith  of  the  heathen,  or  Gentile  nations.  He 
says  that  "  the  heathen  had  knowledge  of  God 
sufficient  for  conviction,  but  not  for  conversion." 
Such  doctrine  was  then  held  to  be  Biblical  ortho- 
doxy. The  great  master  of  theology,  Dr.  John 
Owen,  held  that  God  was  not  savingly  knowable 
by  His  works  in  nature,  or  by  natural  religion 
(Owen  on  Forgiveness,  p.  418).  Also  that  forgive- 
ness with  God  could  only  come  through  faith  in 
the  person  of  Christ,  as  revealed  in  the  promise 
made  to  Adam  at  the  time  of  the  fall  (Person  and 
Glory  of  Christ,  p.  124).  The  two  propositions  are 
consistent  with  each  other,  for,  as  the  heathen 
under  natural  religion  had  not  the  Holy  Scriptures, 


306  THEISM  UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

they  could  not  act  faith  on  that  promise,  as  re- 
vealed, and,  upon  the  foregoing  assertion  (1)  of  the 
necessity  of  knowledge  of  that  promise,  and  (2)  of 
faith  in  Christ's  person,  as  so  revealed,  they  could 
not  be  saved.  It  is  with  great  regret,  as  with 
diffidence  that  I  express  dissent  from  the  teaching 
of  Dr.  Owen  on  this  point.  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
give  my  reasons  in  detail.  I  will  state  positively 
in  as  few  words  as  possible  my  own  conclusions.  I 
think  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  fact  that 
there  is  but  one  way  of  salvation,  and  but  one 
Saviour.  This,  however,  does  not  entail  absolute 
need  and  necessity  of  knowledge  of  the  historic 
Christ,  nor  does  it  entail  the  necessity  of  knowledge 
of  that  first  promise,  or  indeed  of  the  subsequent 
promises  made  concerning  Him  in  Holy  Scripture. 
I  do  not,  here,  discuss  the  question  whether  God  is 
knowable  by  natural  law  ;  I  have  done  so.  God 
has,  herein,  provided  the  minimum  of  knowledge 
required  concerning  Him,  as  moral  governor,  and 
as  the  Creator  and  Father  of  His  creatures,  in  re- 
gard to  the  Old  Testament  revelations  of  God  and 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (1)  by  prophecy  and  (2) 
by  the  law  of  sacrifice  as  related  to  forgiveness. 
The  law  of  sacrifice  did,  parat>olically,  reveal  an 
abstract  principle  of  vicarious  suffering,  and  also 
prefigure  a  sinless  victim,  a  Saviour  ;  it  did  not  re- 
veal the  historic  Christ,  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  So  of 
the  prophecies  of  Christ.  They  were  more  or  less 
figurative,  as  was  the  law.     They,  too,  revealed  a 


APPENDIX     •  307 

Personality,  a  Saviour,  but  not  the  historic  Christ. 
Thus,  faith  in  the  promises  and  faith  in  the  law  of 
sacrifices  was  not  a  faith  in  Christ.     I  am  of  the 
opinion  that,  until  the  actual  appearance  on  earth 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whether  it 
be  under  the  law  of  natural  religion  or  by  the  evi- 
dence of  Holy  Scripture,  a  true  belief  in  the  Lord 
Jehovah  of  the  Bible  has  been  a  faith  accepted  of 
God,  and  also  been  a  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  a 
belief  of  Him  as  both  "a  just  God  and  a  Saviour  " 
(Is.  45  :  21).     The  whole  of  the  chapter  here  quoted 
is  full  of  evidence  on  this  point,  as  to  God  revealed 
in  nature,  and  God  in  His  Holy  personality,  as  the 
object   of   our   faith.     There   has  been,  under  the 
Old  Testament,  a  graduation  of  truth,  as  revealing 
God's  character,  and  also  His  counsels  for  man's 
salvation— whether  that  revelation  is  made  by  type 
or  by  prophecy— and,  so,  the  degree  of  knowledge 
available   has    been   graduated   as    to   the   way  or 
method  of  God's  saving  mercy  ;  but  the  faith  re- 
quired of  God  is  a  faith  of  the  fact,  and  a  faith  in 
God's  character  as  revealed  to  us  by  such  evidence. 
I  may  again  notice  that  our  Lord   frequently  in- 
sisted on  the  fact  that  He  was  sent  of  God.     A  true 
belief  in  God  as  revealed  includes  evidence  of  Him 
as  "  a  merciful   God,"  a  Saviour.     So  did  He  sol- 
emnly declare  Himself  to  Moses  when  He  made  all 
His  glory  to  pass  before  him  (Ex  34  : 8).     "  And 
the  Lord  passed  by  before  him  and  proclaimed,  The 
Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suf- 


308  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

fering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  trans- 
gression and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear 
the  guilty  ;  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  children  and  upon  the  children's  children  unto 
the  third  and  the  fourth  generation.  And  Moses 
made  haste  and  bowed  his  head  towards  the  earth 
and  worshipped." 

I  will,  now,  add  that  the  essentially  false  concep- 
tion given  of  God's  character  and  being,  by  the 
representations  I  have  referred  to,  and  under  the 
notion  of  exalting  the  Bible,  as  an  inspired  book, 
and  of  the  exaltation  of  the  New  Testament  to  the 
disparagement  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
has  actually  fortified  philosophic  scepticism ;  and 
revealed  religion  at  this  day  is  suffering,  at  least 
collaterally  and  reflexively,  from  this  radical,  and  I 
think  I  may  correctly  say,  this  gigantic  error.  Dr. 
Martineau  in  his  "  Study  of  Religion  "  has  a  chapter 
on  the  unity  of  God,  as  Cause  and  as  Perfection ;  a 
leading  idea  therein  expressed  is  this — The  First- 
Cause  of  all  things  is  not  only  the  Supreme  Force, 
and  the  Supreme  Intelligence,  but,  as  Creator  and 
Preserver,  He  is  absolutely  the  Perfect  and  Supreme 
Good,  in  Himself  and  to  His  creatures.  Therefore, 
the  belief  in  God,  as  First-Cause  and  Supreme 
Good,  in  Himself,  must  include  among  other  moral 
qualities,  a  belief  in  His  love  and  goodness,  mercy 
and  kindness,  as  these  qualities  are  correlated  to, 
and   inseparable  from   each   and   every  aspect  and 


APPENDIX  309 

quality  of  moral  and  spiritual,  as  well  as  natural 
and  essential  good,  as  such  qualities  and  attributes 
of  His  being  and  personality.  Only  such  a  con- 
ception of  Him  can  correctly  be  said  to  be  a  belief 
in  God,  i.  e.,  belief  in  a  SelfrExistent  Personality, 
who  is  the  Supreme,  Essential,  and  Perfect  Good. 

The  study  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  East,  or  of 
comparative  religion,  although  made  the  basis  of 
both  true  and  false  inferences,  has  had  the  effect  of 
directing  greater  attention  to  studies  in  funda- 
mental theism,  and  to  the  subject  of  Christianity 
and  the  Bible  as  related  to  non-Christian  nations 
and  religious  systems. 

As  Dr.  Maclagan,  the  present  Archbishop  of 
York,  has  said,  it  has  already  and  properly  altered 
the  attitude  of  the  missionary  in  his  approaches  to 
the  people  to  whom  he  goes,  to  instruct  and  to 
Christianize.  I  have  referred  to  this  subject  in  an- 
other place.  The  study  of  this  topic  may,  and  does, 
properly  call  for  serious  attention,  as  it  stands  re- 
lated to  Christian  Theology,  and  to  those  who 
stand  responsible  for  theological  teaching. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Note  A 

The  Providence  of  God 

As  connected  with  the  experimental  aspect  of 
this  element  of  Theism  I  will  make  one  or  two  ref- 
erences to  Holy  Scripture. 

Moses  (Deut.  8 :  4),  points  to  God's  Providence 
over  the  Israelites ;  and  he  appeals  to  their  collec- 
tive experience,  and  knowledge  of  it  as  instanced  in 
one  out  of  many  remarkable  particulars.  He  says, 
"  Thy  raiment  waxed  not  old  upon  thee,  neither 
did  thy  foot  swell,  these  forty  years:'' 

In  like  manner  David  in  Psalm  105  :  37,  epito- 
mizes the  events  of  the  wilderness  journey  and  of 
the  Exodus ;  and  he,  as  it  were,  quite  incidentally, 
in  the  sketch  there  given  of  God's  care  over  them, 
in  their  eventful  history  as  a  people,  says,  "  He 
brought  them  out  also  with  silver  and  gold  and 
there  was  not  one  feeble  person  among  their  tribes." 
This  latter  circumstance  is  to  be  read  in  connection 
with  Leviticus  26,  and  Deuteronomy  28,  where 
specific  promises,  and  specific  threatenings,  are  ut- 
tered and  declared  ;  and  in  which  the  transcendent 
personality,  and  supremacy  of  Jehovah  are  implied  ; 
and,  so,  specifically  declared,  and  set  before  them. 

310 


APPENDIX  311 

It  is  further  to  be  remarked  that  the  passages  I 
have  quoted  as  illustrating  the  pervasive  character 
of  the  Providence  of  God,  and  evidencing  His 
transcendent  operations,  may  with  equal  propriety 
be  cited  in  proof  and  illustration  of  the  miractdous 
acts  of  His  transcendent  Personality  as  Creator  and 
Moral  Governor  ;  this  fact,  again,  gives  evidence  of 
the  homogeneity  of  the  elements  of  Theism  ;  and, 
also  that  the  Divine  super  natural  is  the  distinctive, 
and  the  universal  characteristic  of  all  those  ele- 
ments ;  whether,  as  manifestations,  or  evidences  in, 
and  by  His  Works  in  the  economy  of  Nature,  and  as 
related  thereto,  or  by  His  Inspired  and  Written 
Word,  as  the  complementum  of  evidence  to  His 
Personality  and  Will. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Note  A 

Dr.  de  Costa,  the  Chiwch  of  Home,  and  "  Lux 
Mundi  "  ow  Tradition 

The  tract  lately  issued  by  the  "  Catholic  Truth 
Society  of  Toronto,"  with  reference  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture and  its  assailants,  is  very  suggestive.  Refer- 
ring to  the  teaching  of  the  Higher  Critics,  and  their 
renunciation  of  plenary  inspiration,  as  distinctive  of 
Holy  Scripture,  a  claim  is  put  forward  on  behalf  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  that  she,  alone,  is  the  main- 
tainor of  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  and  that  she,  alone,  defines  the 
just  place  and  authority  of  Holy  Scripture.  Let 
us,  first,  notice  how  that  she  does,  indeed,  assert 
justly  and  truly,  the  Divine  source  and  plenary  au- 
thority, as  well  as  the  inerrancy  of  the  whole  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments.  But,  while  acknowl- 
edging this  to  be  a  fact,  it  is  to  be  coupled  with  an- 
other fact  of  primary  importance,  that  this  claim 
for  Holy  Scripture  is  made  subservient  to  her  doc- 
trine concerning  the  Church,  of  which  she  claims 
to  be  the  exclusive  representative. 

Holy  Scripture,  with  her,  is  not  the  ultimate  and 
supreme  authority.     Not  only  is  the  teaching  and 

312 


APPENDIX  313 

decrees  of  the  Church  equally  authoritative,  but,  as 
the  Church  is  prior  to  Holy  Scripture,  in  time,  it  is 
also  prior  to  it  in  authority.     In  order  to  this,  and 
tributary  thereto,  they  teach  that  there  has  always 
been  in  the  Church  a  tradition,  by  which  the  scrip- 
ture is  to  be  interpreted,  and  which,  conjointly  with 
Holy  Scripture,  is  the  authoritative  rule  of  faith  and 
duty.     By  these  premises,  the  revealed  will  of  God 
is  found  and  expressed,  primarily,  and  essentially,  in 
a  visible  and  organized  corporation,  known  as  the 
Church  of  Kome.     All  the  doctrine  and  ritual  of 
that  church  rests  on   this   hypothesis.     Authority 
and  infallibility,  with  them,  rests  primarily  and  ulti- 
mately  in    the   Church ;   and   the   inspiration  and 
authority  of  Holy  Scripture  is  held,  only,  as  it  is 
tributary    and   subservient    to    this    primary   and 
essential  proposition.    But,  upon  what  is  this  hypoth- 
esis based?     The  answer  is  that  it  is  based  upon 
portions  of  the  New  Testament,  and  notably  upon  a 
false  exegesis  of  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
to  the  Apostle  Peter,  "  Upon  this  rock  will  I  build 
My  church."     From  this  passage,  in  particular,  the 
"  church"  hypothesis  is  derived,  and  other  passages 
are  so  interpreted  as  to  give  color  to  the  statement 
that  the  Bishop  of  Kome  is  the  vicar  of  Christ  upon 
earth ;  and  based  upon  this  theory  and,  as  a  part  of 
the  "  church  "  hypothesis,  che  inferences  drawn  from 
Old  Testament  history  are  such  as  are  in  unison  there- 
with.    Accordingly,  it  is  supposed  that,  both  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  eras,  the  Church,  as  an  or- 


314  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

ganized  body,  is  the  primary  seat  of  Divine  author- 
ity, and  the  source  and  centre  of  Divine  truth.  An 
important  point  to  be  noticed  is  this — the  traditions, 
or  oral  teaching  of  this  organized  body  has  equal 
force  and  authority  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
the  teaching  put  forth  by  this  body  is  equally  in- 
capable of  error.  When  we  consider  that  the  Scrip- 
tures are  to  be  received  and  believed,  only,  as  this 
church,  so  inspired,  interprets  them,  it  is,  at  once, 
evident  that  all  the  doctrine  it  holds  as  to  the  Di- 
vine character  of  the  Scriptures  is  merged  into  and 
identified  with  the  Church,  and  so  constitutes  a 
theodicy  of  its  own. 

Christian  theism,  on  the  other  hand,  rests  on  the 
broad  basis  of  objective  and  subjective  evidences 
contained  in  nature,  the  human  conscience  and  the 
Word  of  God  in  Holy  Scripture.  Holy  Scripture  is 
the  complementum  of  Theism,  and  in  itself  consti- 
tutes the  full,  and  final  revelation  of  the  Divine  will. 
This  is  explicitly  stated  therein,  and  specially  by  the 
personal  teaching  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  An 
examination  of  its  texture  goes  to  shew  that  it  con- 
stitutes a  cumulative  and  a  culminatory  revelation  of 
God's  -character  and  will ;  that  it  comprises  and  also 
unifies  and  consolidates  all  the  elements  of  Theism, 
and  presents  them  as  one  harmonious  and  perfect 
whole.  It  will  be  evident  that  the  doctrine  of  Holy 
Scripture  in  reference  both  to  the  Church  and  to 
tradition  is  radically  different  from  that  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and   that   while  she  makes  the 


APPENDIX  315 

Church  and  tradition  to  be  of  primary  and  para- 
mount authority,  Holy  Scripture  claims  for  itself 
such  absolute  and  final  authority ;  and  its  claim  is 
supported  by  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  Messiah  of  God,  and  the  Supreme  Prophet 
promised  to  the  Church.  The  authorized,  just  and 
Divinely  constituted  relation  of  the  Church,  as  an 
organized  and  confessing  body,  to  Holy  Scripture, 
and  the  authority  given  to  it,  as  such  by  the  teach- 
ing of  Holy  Scripture,  and  that  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour,  is  well  and  truly  stated  in  the  following 
articles  of  our  .Reformed  Church,  appended  to  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  i.  e.,  Art.  6  "  Of  the  suffi- 
ciency of  the  Holy  Scripture  for  salvation,"  Art.  20 
"  Of  the  authority  of  the  Church."  The  Church  of 
Rome  has  adopted  the  doctrine  of  the  Jewish  Kabbis 
concerning  tradition,  and  also  concerning  the  Church, 
and  with  various  accretions  it  is  incorporated  in  their 
system.  The  Jewish  doctors  held  that,  besides  the 
written  law,  delivered  to  Moses,  on  Mount  Sinai, 
Moses  received  from  God  certain  oral  revelations 
which  it  was  not  lawful  to  write.  These  Moses 
delivered  to  Joshua  and  he  to  Eleazar,  in  a  line  of 
succession.  On  these,  the  Mishna  and  Gamara  were 
founded,  and  these  were  regarded  as  of  greater 
authority  than  the  written  law  of  Holy  Scripture. 
Our  Lord's  great  controversy  with  the  Jewish  Rab- 
bis was  that  they  had  made  the  Word  of  God  of 
none  effect,  by  their  traditions  which  they  had  de- 
livered.    Our   Lord,    on   many  occasions,  emphat- 


316  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

ically  declared  that  Holy  Scripture  is  the  ultimate 
and  supreme  authority,  as  expressing  the  counsel  and 
will  of  God,  and,  thus,  is  established  a  contrast  be- 
tween Sacred  Traditions,  in  harmony  with  and  au- 
thorized by  Holy  Scripture,  and  those  Ecclesiastical 
traditions  which  are  antagonistic  thereto,  and  make  it 
of  none  effect,  while  they  give  it  a  nominal  place  in 
but  make  it  subservient  to  their  system  which  gives 
the  ultimate  and  governing  power  to  an  ecclesias- 
tical corporation.  But  the  teaching  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  upon  this  subject,  as  set  forth  by  Dr.  deCosta, 
requires  a  little  further  notice.  He  (Dr.  DeC.) 
identifies  the  oral,  and  the  written  and  authorized 
teaching  of  that  church,  as  proceeding  from  the 
Church  (1)  with  this  term,  "  tradition,"  and  (2)  with 
the  Church,  itself,  whose  voice  it  is.  Further,  he 
identifies  this  corporate  body,  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church,  with  the  power,  authority  and  infallibility 
belonging  to  and  proceeding  from  the  Divine  Head 
of  the  Church,  as  set  forth  in  Holy  Scripture,  even 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  accepts  it  as  axio- 
matic that  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  his  personality 
and  office,  as  head  of  that  church,  represents  its 
unity  and  authority  ;  and,  as  such  representative,  ex- 
ercises peculiar,  exclusive  and  universal  authority  as 
the  vicar  of  Christ.  The  Church  and  its  traditions 
are  nominally  and  formally  held  to  be  of  equal  force 
and  authority  with  Holy  Scripture,  as  inspired  of 
God  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  only  as  that  Church  inter- 
prets Holy  Scripture.     Consequently,  the  authority 


APPENDIX  317 

and  infallibility,  so  predicated  of  Holy  Scripture, 
depends  absolutely  upon  the  voice  of  the  Church,  as 
the  primary  and  essential  source  and  centre  from 
which  it  is  derived.  For  this  reason,  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church  is  not  only  the  infallible  interpreter 
of  Holy  Scripture,  but  it  may  and  it  does  add 
thereto  such  accretions  of  doctrine  as  it  may  see  fit 
to  authorize  and  set  forth.  These  accretions,  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  take  the  form  of  superstition  and 
idolatry,  as  a  form  of  error,  peculiar  to  that  system. 

The  theology  of  "  Lux  Mundi,"  and  Bishop  Gore 
set  up  the  same  claims  for  an  ecclesiastical  body 
as  does  the  Church  of  Rome ;  and  this  ecclesiastical 
body  for  which  "  Lux  Mundi "  sets  up  such  claim  is 
by  them  falsely  and  scandalously  identified  with  the 
Reformed  Church  of  England. 

The  voice  of  this  Church  is  authoritative  and 
absolute  in  its  claims.  It  claims  to  identify  science, 
or  pseudo-scientism,  not  alone  with  the  authority 
proper  and  peculiar  to  Holy  Scripture,  alone,  as  the 
voice  of  God,  but,  by  the  voice  of  the  Church  and 
under  the  law  of  evolution  with  an  authority  that 
is  absolute  and  primary,  because  it  is  the  law  of 
evolution ;  and  the  Church,  as  God's  voice,  declares 
the  law  and  will  of  God  by  such  law  of  absolute  and 
universal  evolution.  Here  is  the  same  principle  in 
regard  to  the  powers  of  the  Church,  as  is  set  forth 
in  the  Church  of  Rome,  but  the  traditions  of  this 
body  are  rationalistic  and  secular,  instead  of  being- 
superstitious  in  character.     Hence,  it  is  sufficient  to 


31S  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

say  that  the  doctrine  of  tradition,  as  thus  set  forth, 
whether  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  any  other 
ecclesiastical  corporation,  does  not  represent  the 
doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture,  in  regard  to  traditions 
which  we  call  sacred,  from  any  point  of  view ; 
whether  we  identify  the  same  with  the  oral  teach- 
ing of  an  inspired  apostle,  or  with  the  testimony  of 
facts  concerning  God's  ways  and  doings  in  history, 
or  the  experience  acquired  by  God-fearing  and  be- 
lieving men  of  His  dealings  with  themselves,  indi- 
vidually, by  His  providence  over  them,  or  by  the 
working  of  His  Holy  Spirit  and  His  Holy  Word 
within  their  hearts. 

Dr.  DeCosta  says  that  "an  infallible  book  re- 
quires an  infallible  interpreter."  Assuming  that 
this  proposition  is  true,  we  are  required  by  him  to 
assume,  also,  that  this  "infallible  interpreter"  must 
necessarily  be  an  infallible  corporate  body,  and  that 
this  body  corporate  is  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  that  the  Pope,  as  its  head,  is  the  infallible  in- 
terpreter divinely  given  and  appointed  of  God,  as 
he  is  its  official  representative.  Not  only  a  very 
large,  very  gratuitous,  but  also  a  very  irrational  as- 
sumption. Dr.  DeCosta's  reasoning  is  illogical  and 
ex  parte.  His  premises, — as  mere  assumption — 
being  false,  the  whole  fabric  falls  by  consequence, 
as  a  non-sequitor  and  a  fallacy. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  support  of  the  Protestant 
position,  which  he  considers  baseless,  upon  the 
stable  premise  that   the  Church   of  Christ  is,  pri- 


APPENDIX  319 

manly  and  essentially,  in  its  esse  a  spiritual  body, 
we  have  not  only  the  authority  of  Holy  Scripture,  but 
the  authority  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  infalli- 
ble interpreter  of  Holy  Scripture,  for  saying  that  the 
individual  members  of  that  "live  mystical  body" 
shall  be  "all  taught  of  God,"  and,  therefore,  that, 
being  so  taught,  as.  He  says  of  the  Father,  whoso- 
ever is  so  taught  "  cometh  unto  Me."  This  is  not 
an  isolated  statement  made  by  our  Lord,  for,  al- 
though speaking  first  to  the  then  living  and  exist- 
ing members  of  the  Church,  He  says,  "When  He, 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  shall  come,  He  will  lead  you  into 
all  truth,"  "He  shall  teach  you  all  things  "—a 
promise  not  peculiar  to  the  apostolate,  but  the 
heritage  of  every  living  and  real  member  of,  or 
believer  upon  Jesus  Christ  (John  16 :  13,  14). 


CHAPTEK  IX 

Note  A 

Theistic  Basis  of  the  Credibility  of  Miracles 

It  may  be  premised  that  by  a  miracle  we  under- 
stand the  extraordinary  manifestation  of  the  per- 
fections of  God,  aside  from  the  known  laws  of 
Nature.  In  the  enquiry  therefore  of  the  credibility 
of  miracles,  such  enquiry  must  be  so  limited,  as  ap- 
plying to  the  rationality  and  veracity  of  the  exer- 
cise and  manifestation  to  us,  in  such  manner,  of  the 
perfections  of  God.  In  the  prosecution  of  such  en- 
quiry it  is  necessary,  as  a  preliminary  statement,  to 
say  that  we  can  reason  concerning  God's  opera- 
tions, legitimately,  but  in  one  way,  viz.,  in  that  He 
is  the  all-perfect  personality.  Our  own  personality, 
and  our  personal  relations  form  the  negative  basis 
for  an  estimate  of  Him,  and  as  He  is  related  to  us, 
and  such  negative  basis  is  the  highest  vantage 
ground  we  can,  so,  occupy,  as  our  personality,  is  the 
the  highest  point,  in  the  field  of  nature,  and  of  our 
knowledge  and  experience. 

We  are  created  and  imperfect  personalities ;  Tie 
is  the  uncreated  and  the  perfect.  The  Book  of 
God,  by  which  He  speaks  to  us,  speaks  of  His  per- 

320 


APPENDIX  321 

sonality  in  an  accommodated  sense,  suited  to  our 
capacities  of  apprehension.  Thus,  we  read  of  God's 
eyes,  His  mouth,  and  His  feet,  and  His  hands ;  so, 
also,  do  we  read  of  His  mind,  His  knowledge,  His 
love,  and  His  will.  Reasoning,  therefore,  from 
God's  personality  as  related  to  our  own,  we  can  but 
reason  negatively  and  not  positively,  because  that  is 
beyond  our  experience.  Elihu  presented  the  claims 
of  God,  to  Job,  upon  this  basis  (Job  33 :  12),  and  in 
the  strongest  possible  way.  When  he  said  "  God  is 
greater  than  man ;  "  and  while  using  the  compara- 
tive degree,  because  of  the  analogy  of  His  person 
to  ours,  he  is  using  it  as  the  highest  possible  su- 
perlative, because  it  means  that  God  is  inherently, 
essentially,  and  absolutely  greater.  In  the  same 
manner  are  God's  relations  to  us  represented  in  ac- 
cordance with  our  experience,  and  in  an  accommo- 
dated sense.  God  represents  Himself  to  us  as  a 
Father,  and  as  our  Father.  By  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  He  is  spoken  of  as  "The  Father,"  i.  e,,  The 
all-perfect  Father,  the  highest  conception  of  His 
real  character,  possible  to  us.  The  same  rule  and 
order  applies  to  His  moral  attributes,  as  they  are 
related  to  our  moral  qualities,  as  free  and  account- 
able agents.  This  aspect  of  God's  personality,  and 
being,  presents  to  us  sufficient  and  logical  ground, 
as  a  negative  basis,  for  belief, — from  the  premises 
stated,  of  the  credibility  of  miracles  as  immediate 
manifestations  of  His  personality. 

As  our  moral  faculties  are   correlated    to   each 


322  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

other  and  are  interdependent,  the  acts  and  habit 
of  the  will,  in  us,  represents  the  individual  ego,  and 
defines  character.  All  the  moral  faculties  of  the 
individual  ego  are  permeated  and  possessed  by  the 
act  and  habit  of  the  Will :  and  the  will,  so,  repre- 
sents the  individual. 

Such  individuality  is  necessary  to  us  as  we  are 
moral  and  accountable  agents.  Further  than  this : 
our  own  personalities  are  our  ultimate,  and  highest 
possible  apprehension  of  the  perfect  personality ; 
but  such  apprehension  is  sufficient  to  this  end. 

We  have  and  possess  a  relative  freedom  of  action, 
as  we  are  accountable  agents  ;  God,  as  the  All-Per- 
fect  personality,  and  uncaused,  is  absolutely  free, 
because  He  is  absolutely  perfect.  The  existence  of 
God,  as  such  personality,  and  such  free-agent  in- 
volves, and  we  may, — reverently — say,  requires  the 
immediate  exercise  of  His  personality  /  and,  by  im- 
mediate I  mean  aside  from  intermediate,  and  instru- 
mental laws  (by  which  He  cannot  be  limited)  of 
His  operation ;  and  by  the  analogy  of  the  exercise 
of  the  human  will  as  representing  the  Ego,  and  as 
governing  and  describing  the  individual  personality 
and  the  individual  character. 

The  contrast,  however,  between  the  act  and  habit, 
and  so  the  character  of  the  human  will,  so  mani- 
fested, and  that  of  God,  is  the  perfect  as  contrasted 
with  the  imperfect.  The  immediate  exercise  of 
God's  will  has  for  its  object  absolute  and  perfect 
good,  as  it  proceeds  from  Him,  and  so  glorifies  Him 


APPENDrx  323 

however,  or  in  whatever  way  exercised  and  mani- 
fested. The  acts  and  habit  of  the  human  will  are, 
only  good  as  they  are  in  unison  with  the  declared 
will  and  character  of  God.  It  only  remains  to  say 
that  a  miracle,  as  such  act  of  God,  is  not  limited  or 
circumscribed  as  a  manifestation  of  God's  power, 
only  ;  but,  as  such  act,  it  declares,  also,  each  and  all 
of  His  moral  attributes,  as  the  perfect  Good,  and  the 
perfect  Personality. 


CHAPTEK  X 

Note  A 

Analytical  Note  on  Conscience 

It  will  be  useful  to  take  an  analytical  view  of 
the  faculty  of  conscience,  viewed  from  a  Scripture 
standpoint. 

I  have  alreadv  said  that  I  think,  from  that  stand- 
point,  we  are  to  regard  it  as  including  all  the  fac- 
ulties of  the  soul,  as  distinctive,  in  man. 

At  the  risk  of  redundance,  I  will  here,  again,  say 
that  I  think  it  is  not  to  be  confined  to  the  critical, 
or  judicial  faculty  of  our  moral  nature ;  but,  as  one 
of  the  faculties  of  that  nature,  i.  e.,  the  mind,  the 
heart,  or  the  will  is  frequently  used  to  express  the 
whole  /  so  is  it  of  conscience,  that  the  judicial  or 
mandatory  quality  is  not  to  be  separated  from  the 
intellectual  quality.  In  1  Cor.  8  :  11, 12,  St.  Paul  evi- 
dently affiliates,  and  all  but  identifies  knowledge 
(syv&c?)  with  conscience  (suvettyw').  "  Through  thy 
knowledge  shall  the  weak  brother  perish,  for  whom 
Christ  died." 

"  But,  when  ye  sin  so  against  the  brethren,  and 

324 


APPENDIX  325 

wound  their  weak  conscience,  ye  sin  against 
Christ." ' 

The  critical  and  judicial  faculty  is  to  be  regulated 
by  knowledge;  it  is  even  responsible,  only,  by,  or 
through  knowledge,  as  such  knowledge  is  available, 
and  known  to  be  so ;  or,  as  it  is  possessed.  So,  St. 
Paul  says  (Rom.  14 :  12-23)  in  deciding  a  question 
of  conscience,  when  the  mind  is  uncertain,  and,  con- 
sequently, the  question  of  true,  or  false,  being  un- 
settled;  the  moral  sense  is  influenced  in  precisely 
the  same  ratio,  and  in  the  same  manner. 

When  the  intellectual  faculty  cannot,  positively, 
say  yes,  the  moral  sense  of  ought  is,  in  like  manner, 
affected,  and  held  in  abeyance;  it  withholds  its  as- 
sent as  to  right  or  wrong,  and,  so,  cannot  say  ought, 
or  ought  not.  Therefore,  it  also  requires  the  will  to 
withhold  its  decision ;  and  the  want  of  the  positive 
requires  the  negative,  and  the  preservation  of  the 
status  quo.  "  Therefore,  he  that  doubteth  is  damned, 
or  condemned,  if  he  eat,  because  he  eateth  not  of 


1  The  argument  of  St.  Paul  iu  regard  to  knowledge  of  moral  truth, 
not  only  goes  to  shew  that  such  knowledge  is  correlated  to  con- 
science, or  God-consciousness,  as  defining  a  sense  of  right  and  of 
wrong,  and  of  moral  obligation;  but,  that  the  knowledge  that,  so, 
ministers  to  such  faculty  is  an  essential  part,  and  integral  element 
of  conscience  itself,  without  which  it  could  not  exist.  Also,  it 
goes  far  to  demonstrate  the  radical  distinction  of  man,  as  a  com- 
pound being,  from  the  animals  :  that  his  ontological  character  is 
essentially  distinct  from  the  highest  type  of  the  irrational  creatures, 
and  that,  ontologically  and  morally  the  unity  of  his  own  nature  is 
completely  and  radically  different  from  theirs. 


32B  THEISM    UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

faith  ;    for,  whatsoever  is  not  (clone)  of   faith,  is 
sin." 

That  is  to  say,  he  cannot  believe,  if  the  evidence 
is  not  satisfactory  and  sufficient  to  his  individual 
knowledge,  and  judgment,  and,  so,  binding  upon  his 
moral  sense  •  and,  if  he  acts  without, — as  equivalent 
to,  contrary  to,  his  convictions,  and  moral  sense,  he 
is  held  culpable  before  God,  as  having  broken  the 
law  of  conscience,  or  natural  religion.  This  is  the 
same  argument  that  we  find  St.  Paul  using  in  Rom. 
7  :  14-25,  where  he  identifies  the  ego  with  the  choos- 
ing faculty,  as  representing  all  the  moral  nature, 
because  of  the  necessary  interdependence  between 
them.  So  the  ego,  or  "  I,  myself/*'  represents  the 
affections,  as  they  act  upon  the  will,  when  he  says, 
"  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inward  man." 

So,  "  If  I  do  what  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  / 
that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me." 

Our  Lord's  teaching  as  to  the  "single  eye"  is 
identical  in  character.  Sincerity,  or  integrity  of 
purpose  is  always  identified  with  holy  affection, 
and  with  enlightened  perception  as  to  moral  truths; 
such  is  the  general  tenor  of  Scripture  teaching; 
and  such  are  the  experimental  facts. 

We  may  further  notice  that  as  Holy  Scripture 
speaks  of  a  pure  conscience,  so  in  this  moral  dis- 
tinction, it  includes  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  affec- 
tions and  purpose.  St.  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to. 
Titus,  speaks  of  those  whose  "  mind  and  conscience 
is  defiled  "  ; — referring  to  the  fact  of  evil  cogitations 


APPENDIX  327 

being  habitually  suggested  to  the  mind,  through  the 
affections  and  will  being  so  governed  and  directed, 
and,  so,  polluting  the  conscience;  as  the  critical 
and  mandatory  faculty  is,  in  a  similar  way,  capable 
of  being  perverted,  hardened,  or  olinded.  The 
antithesis  to  this  aspect  of  conscience  is  found  in 
what  St.  Paul,  elsewhere  terms,  "a  pure  con- 
science." 

Describing  the  character  of  acceptable  candidates 
for  the  Diaconate  (1  Tim.  3  :  9)  he  says  :  "  Holding 
the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience." 

This  probably  refers  to  a  sincere  and  obedient 
faith  with  all  its  concomitants. 

Where  St.  Paul  speaks  of  a  purge,  a  cleansed 
conscience,  in  Heb.  9  :  14,  he  is  referring  to  those 
concomitants,  and  tracing  the  effects  to  their 
proper  cause.  "  How  much  more  shall  the  blood 
of  Christ,  who,  through  the  Eternal  Spirit  offered 
Himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your  con- 
science from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  ?  " 

Such  a  purgation  not  only  includes  all  the  moral 
faculties,  as  controlling  powers  of  the  inner  life  and 
character,  but  also  of  the  body  and  its  members, 
and  of  the  outward  life  and  conversation. 


Note  B 
The  Essential  Elements  of  Theism  Always 
in  Evidence 
Another  and  important  point  I  wish  to  make, 


328  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

in  this  connection,  is  the  fact  that  during  this  early 
period  of  the  world's  history  specially  under  con- 
sideration, i.  <?.,  from  the  Creation  to  the  Exodus; 
in  addition  to  the  cardinal  evidence  for  God,  as 
creator;  (the  basis  of  all  subsequent  evidence, 
mediate  or  immediate),  there  has  been  present,  with 
the  sole  exception  of  a  written  and  inspired  law, 
every  element  of  Theism  and  of  supernatural  re- 
ligion. While  historic  Theism  is  characterized  by 
progressive  development  of  every  evidence  and 
element  of  truth,  as  an  essential  feature  of  the 
Divine  economy  ;  from  the  beginning  of  Sacred 
History  those  elements  have  been  present  in  vary- 
ing degrees  of  disclosure. 

In  reference  to  this  fact  it  is  further  noticeable 
that  Max  Mtiller  in  his  "  Science  of  Religion," 
referred  to  by  Sir  Wm.  Dawson,  prefers  to  the 
more  general  terms,  Natural,  and  Eevealed  Re- 
ligion; which  is  simply  a  broad  distinction  between 
those  epochs  of  time  that  were  characterized  by  the 
presence,  or  absence  of  a  dogmatic  law,  and  an 
inspired  Lawgiver,  as  historically  regarded ;  a 
more  precise,  and  accurate  historical  definition.  In 
adopting  a  threefold  distinction,  or  grouping  of 
races,  and  religious  character,  as  Turanian,  Aryan, 
and  Semitic,  as  a  historic  fact,  and  as  describing 
different  measures  and  degrees  of  Biblical  Theism, 
he  does  so  upon  a  scientific  and  critical  basis ;  be- 
cause, in  addition  to  the  cardinal  fact  of  Theism, 
i.  e.f  that  of  Creation,  and  a  Personal  Creator  with 


APPENDIX  329 

its  subjective  results,  the  Semites,  or  descendants  of 
Shein,  held  this  belief  and  shared  in  its  benefits,  to- 
gether with  those  derived  from  other  elements  of  a 
distinctly  supernatural  character,  as  hereinbefore 
dealt  with,  and  declared  from  the  standpoint  of 
Bible  History  ;  and,  this  is  evidenced  to  us  by  the 
fact  that  the  traditions  held  by  them  of  various 
incidents  of  Historic  Theism,  correspond  with  the 
accounts  thereof  given  to  us  in  the  Mosaic  narra- 
tives, in  the  books  of  Genesis  and  Exodus.  The 
special  point  here  to  be  made  is  the  fact  that  while 
degrees  of  traditional  knowledge  of  God  are  to  be 
traced  in  these  three  great  divisions  of  the  human 
family;  the  minimum  of  natural  knowledge  of 
God,  i.  e.,  by  Creation  and  Providence,  wras  possessed 
by  them  all ;  and,  in  Noah's  prophetic  declaration 
concerning  Shem,  we  are  to  trace,  even  at  that 
early  day,  a  Divine  purpose,  that  through  his 
posterity  God  designed  to  preserve  and  transmit 
those  immediate  revelations  of,  and  from  Himself, 
which  were,  afterwards,  given  as  a  sacred  deposit 
to  uthe  seed  of  Abraham."  That  there  was, — 
afterwards,  or  in  subsequent  ages,  a  manifest 
method,  or  plan,  of  a  Divine  character,  for  the 
mediate  diffusion  of  Theistic  knowledge  among 
other  nations,  by  means  of  the  Sons  of  Jacob,  we 
gather  from  Moses'  Song,  recorded,  in  the  32d 
Chapter  of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  i 

We  are  told  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  verses, 
"When  the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their 


330  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

inheritance,  when  He  separated  the  sons  of  Adam, 
He  set  the  bounds  of  the  people  according  to  the 
number  of  the  Children  of  Israel " =the  Sons  of 
Jacob. 

As  I  understand  it,  He  did  so,  in  a  manner  sim- 
ilar to  their  location  of  God  in  the  promised  land, 
or,  by  a  settled  method,  and  order.  In  short,  that 
God  had,  ever,  in  His  moral  government,  a  method 
or  plan  for  the  reflexive  diffusion  of  His  truth 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  and,  that  in  His 
purposes  of  everlasting  salvation,  all  races  of  men 
had  a  place,  and  were  included. 

Sufficiency  of  Elementary  Theism 

If  we  have  realized,  as  a  fact  and  actuality,  the 
existence  of  God,  we  have,  in  such  realized  actual- 
ity that  to  draw  upon  which  far  transcends  all  our 
actual  necessities.  The  character  and  sufficiency  of 
God  can  only  be  learned  by  experience  of  Him. 
We  require  to  come  into  conscious,  and  voluntary 
contact  with  His  personality,  in  order  to  "  know 
Him  " ;  and  this  is  the  only  adequate,  as  well  as  the 
only  possible  knowledge  that  we  can  have  of  Him. 
W.e  may  say  that  we  arrive  at  this  conviction  by  an 
a  posteriori  argument,  and  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  highest  degree  of  objective  knowledge  that  is 
possible  to  us,  or  that  is  appointed  of  God,  i.  e., 
God  as  revealed  to  us  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Job  occupied  a  lower  standpoint,  when  after  sur- 
veying the  evidence,  he  said,  "  Lo  these  are  parts — 


APPENDIX  331 

(Kitzoth  derakaylv)  lower  parts  of  His  ways;  but  how 
small  a  portion  is  heard  of  Him !  but  the  thunder  of 
His  power,  who  can  understand  !  "  (Job  26  :  14).  No 
other  than  this  can  be  said  even  from  the  Christian 
standpoint.  Notwithstanding  the  realized  fact  of  a 
revealed  Christ,  and  all  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
ministry,  religious  life  individually  and  personally 
considered  is  a  life  that  has  the  personality  and 
character  of  God  for  its  alone  object  of  hope  and 
dependence  ;  and  it  is  His  character,  and  attributes 
as  necessary  and  essential  facts  and  verities  that 
the  individual  soul  is,  as  declared  in  Christ,  taught 
to  anchor  its  hopes  upon. 

As  an  objective  fact,  Christianity  is  but  the  effect 
or  complementum  of  the  fact  of  God's  existence  and 
character.  The  sum  and  the  substance  of  ail  the 
training  and  teaching  of  a  lifetime,  in  the  history 
of  any  one  of  God's  dear  children  is  but  the  deep- 
ened and  perfected  realization  of  the  fact  that  God, 
in  Himself,  is  and  contains  everything  to  and  for 
His  creature,  Man  ;  and,  also,  everything  that  he, 
himself,  desires  and  longs  for,  and  now  finds  his 
highest  satisfaction  in. 

All  this  is  expressed  and  contained  in  the  words 
of  our  Lord  in  His  Intercessory  Prayer :  "  And  this 
is  Life  Eternal ;  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast 
sent."  It  is  too  true  that  men  may,  and  do  depre- 
ciate the  evidence  supplied  of  God  in  Nature,  bear- 
ing testimony  to  Him  ;  and  it  is  equally  true  that 


332  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

after  having  apprehended  the  initial  fact,  we  may, 
and  we  do  too  inadequately  apprehend  the  grandeur 
and  immensity  of  the  necessary  sequences  which 
that  fact  contains,  and  what  it  secures  to  us. 


Note  C 


Moral  Obligation  to  Seek  God 
In  this  connection,  Bishop  Butler,  in  his  Analogy, 
Part  II,  Chapter  VI,  has  some  very  weighty  and 
valuable  remarks,  from  which  I  make  some  quota- 
tions. The  whole  chapter  is  replete  with  argument 
upon  this  point. 

Page  424— "  If  we  put  the  case  that,  for  the 
present,  it  was  intended,  revelation  should  be  no 
more  than  a  small  light,  in  the  midst  of  a  world 
greatly  overspread,  notwithstanding  it,  with  ig- 
norance and  darkness  ;  that  certain  glimmerings  of 
this  light  should  extend,  and  be  directed,  to  remote 
distances,  in  such  a  manner  that  those  who  really 
partook  of  it  should  not  discern  from  whence  orig- 
inally it  came  ;  that  some,  in  a  nearer  situation  to 
it  should  have  its  light  obscured,  and  in  different 
ways  and  degrees  intercepted  ;  and  that  others 
should  be  placed  within  its  clearer  influence,  and 
be  much  more  enlivened,  cheered  and  directed  by 
it;  but,  yet,  that  even  to  these  it  should  be  no  more 
than  'a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place;'  all  this 
would  be  perfectly  uniform,  and  of  a  piece  with  the 


APPENDIX  333 

conduct  of  Providence,  in  the  distribution  of  its 
other  blessings." 

Page  425 — "And,  lastly,  that  others  have  had 
Christianity  offered  to  them  in  its  genuine  sim- 
plicity, and  with  its  proper  evidence,  as  persons  in 
countries  and  churches  of  civil  and  of  Christian  lib- 
erty ;  but,  however,  that  even  these  persons  are  left 
in  great  ignorance  in  many  respects,  a-nd  have  by 
no  means  light  afforded  to  them  enough  to  satisfy 
their  curiosity,  but  only  to  regulate  their  life,  to 
teach  them  their  duty,  and  encourage  them  in  the 
faithful  discharge  of  it :  I  say,  if  we  were  to  sup- 
pose this  is  somewhat  of  a  generally  true  account  of 
the  degrees  of  moral  and  religious  light  and  evi- 
dence which  were  intended  to  be  afforded  mankind 
and  of  what  has  actually  been,  and  is  their  situ- 
ation in  their  moral  and  religious  capacity,  there 
would  be  nothing  in  all  this  ignorance,  doubtful- 
ness, and  uncertainty  in  all  the  various,  and  sup- 
posed disadvantages  of  some  in  comparison  with 
others,  respecting  religion,  but  may  be  paralleled  by 
manifest  analogies  in  the  natural  dispensations  of 
Providence,  at  present,  and  considering  ourselves 
merely  in  our  temporal  capacity." 

Page  428 — "  The  evidence  of  religion  not  appear- 
ing obvious,  may  constitute  one  part  of  some  man's 
trial,  in  the  religious  sense  :  as  it  gives  scope  for  a 
virtuous  exercise,  or  vicious  neglect  of  their  under- 
standing, in  examining,  or  not  examining  that  evi- 
dence." 


334  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

"  There  seems  no  possible  reason  to  be  given  why 
we  may  not  be  in  a  state  of  moral  probation  with 
regard  to  the  exercise  of  our  understanding  upon 
the  subject  of  religion,  as  we  are  with  regard  to  our 
behavior  in  common  affairs.'1 

Page  429 — "  Thus,  that  religion  is  not  intuitively 
true,  but  a  matter  of  deduction  and  inference ;  that 
a  conviction  of  its  truth  is  not  forced  upon  every 
one,  but  left  to  be,  by  some,  collected  with  heedful 
attention  to  premises :  this,  as  much  constitutes  re- 
ligious probation,  as  much  affords  sphere,  scope,  op- 
portunity, for  right  and  wrong  behavior,  as  any- 
thing whatever  does.  And  their  manner  of  treating 
this  subject  when  laid  before  them,  shews  what  is  in 
their  heart,  and  is  an  exertion  of  it." 

"  If  there  are  any  persons  who  never  set  them- 
selves heartily,  and  in  earnest  to  be  informed  of 
religion  ;  if  there  are  any  who  secretly  wish  it  may 
not  prove  true,  and  are  less  attentive  to  evidence 
than  to  difficulties,  and  more  to  objections  than  to 
what  is  said  in  answer  to  them ;  these  persons  will 
scarcely  be  thought  in  a  likely  way  of  seeing  the 
evidence  of  religion  though  it  were  most  certainly 
true,  and  capable  of  being  ever  so  fully  proved  " 
(p.  438). 

There  seems  to  be  no  pretense,  from  the  reason 
of  the  thing,  to  say,  that  the  trial  cannot  equit- 
ably be  anything,  but  whether  persons  will  act 
suitably  to  certain  information,  or  such  as  admits 
no  room   for  doubt ;   so  as  that  there  can  be  no 


APPENDIX  335 

danger  of  miscarriage,  but  either  from  their  not  at- 
tending to  what  they  certainly  know,  or  from  over- 
bearing passion  hurrying  them  to  act  contrary 
to  it : 

"  For,  since  ignorance  and  doubt  afford  scope  for 
probation,  in  all  senses,  as  really  as  intuitive  con- 
viction, or  certainty ;  and  since  the  two  former  are 
to  be  put  to  the  same  account  as  difficulties  in  prac- 
tice ;  men's  moral  probation  may  also  be,  whether 
they  will  take  due  care  to  inform  themselves  by 
impartial  consideration,  and,  afterwards,  whether 
they  toil  J  act  as  the  case  requires  upon  the  evidenct 
which  they  have,  however  doubtful." 

uIt  ought  to  be  forced  upon  the  reflection  of 
these  persons,  that  our  nature,  and  condition  neces- 
sarily require  us,  in  the  daily  course  of  life,  to  act 
upon  evidence  much  lower  than  what  is  called 
probable;  to  guard  not  only  against  what  we  be- 
lieve will,  but  also  against  what  we  think  it  sup- 
posable — may  happen  ;  and  to  engage  in  pursuits 
when  the  probability  is  greatly  against  success,  if  it 
be  credible  that,  possibly,  we  may  succeed  (pp.  433- 
34.)  The  foregoing  remarks,  as  the  whole  of  the 
chapter,  from  which  they  are  taken,  are  designed 
to  shew  as  they  do  most  conclusively,  that  the 
world  is,  and  ever  has  been,  in  all  its  parts,  under 
the  just  and  equitable  moral  government  of  God, 
whether  it  be  with,  or  without  the  knowledge  of 
His  Holy  Word,  or  in  whatever  degree  that  knowl- 
edge is  enjoyed,  or  withheld.     That  at  all  times, 


336  THEISM    UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

and  under  all  circumstances  man  is  laid  under  the 
just  and  reasonable  obligation  of  seeking  Him  dili- 
gently, and  of  carefully  acting  upon  such  knowledge 
as  He  affords  in  each  case  and  in  each  time  and  cir- 
cumstance ;  and,  in  doing  so  he  has  the  security  of 
God's  own  character  that  He  will  be  nigh  to  all  that 
call  upon  Him  ;  to  all  that  call  upon  Him  in  truth  " 
(Ps.  145  :  18).  Dr.  Chalmers'  weighty  words,  al- 
ready quoted,  are  to  the  same  effect,  as  Bishop 
Butler's. 

The  radical  difficulty  is,  as  it  always  has  been 
since  man  became  a  sinner — not  that  he  is  without 
light  and  knowledge  concerning  God,  and  duty  ; 
none  have  been  or  are,  absolutely  without  such 
knowledge ;  and,  as  a  minimum,  of  an  adequate 
degree  of  such  knowledge  as  may  qualify  them  for 
a  due  discharge  of  their  duty,  both  to  God,  and  to 
their  fellow-men ;  but  the  precise  and  actual  diffi- 
culty is  found  in  man's  natural  aversation  to  fulfil 
such  duty  ;  and  (to  trace  it  to  its  original,  and 
source)  his  inherent  aversation  to  seek  and  enquire 
after  God. 

This,  by  a  Divine  Law,  is  held  as  a  first  duty 
chargeable  upon  him  as  a  moral  agent,  under  law 
to  his  Creator:  I  say  to  enquire, first,  after  God ; 
and,  then  to  enquire  after  the  law  of  truth  derived 
from  God,  and  provided  by  Him,  as  the  law  to 
govern  his  life  and  conversation.  This  aversation 
is  the  first  charge  laid  against  man,  as  a  sinner,  in 
God's  Holy  Word.     David,  speaking  by  the  Holy 


APPENDIX  337 

Ghost,  says  in  Psalm  14:2:  "God  looked  down 
from  heaven  upon  the  children  of  men  to  see  if 
there  were  any  that  did  understand,  and  seek 
God  ; "  and  again  in  Psalm  82  :  5,  "  They  will  not 
be  learned  nor  understand,  but  walk  on  still  in 
darkness/'  And,  most  pointed  is  the  testimony  to 
the  same  effect  in  Ps.  10:4:  "  The  wicked,  through 
the  pride  of  his  countenance,  will  not  seek  (lo 
darash):  in  all  his  thoughts,  God  is  not  (ayen 
elo-him)  or,  as  Gesenius  has  it,  "  There  is  no  God : 
such  are  all  his  thoughts "  (or  cogitations).  So 
David  says  again,  in  Ps.  53 : 1,  "  The  fool  hath  said 
in  his  heart,  there  is  no  God,"  i.  e.,  God  is  not : 
(ayen  elo-him).     Such  is  his  wish. 

As  everywhere  declared  in  holy  writ, — it  is  the 
aversation  of  his  whole  moral  nature  •  (sometimes 
expressed  by  one  faculty,  and  sometimes  by  another, 
but,  terminative  upon  his  will),  that  is  set  against 
God :     His  mind,  His  will,  and  His  law. 

Nowhere  is  this  more  plainly  stated  than  in  the 
Book  of  Job,  and  it  is  stated  there  as  a  familiar  and 
accepted  fact.  Against  such  an  aversation  and 
enmity  is  the  paternal  and  patient  love  of  God,  as 
the  universal  Father  of  mankind,  in  all  the  perfec- 
tions of  His  holy  personality,  directed  in  one  con- 
tinuous moral  controversy.  To  the  passages  I  have 
quoted  I  will  add  the  words  of  our  Lord  in  John  12 :  35, 
where  He  says  to  the  cavilling  Jews,  "  Walk — 
while  ye  have  the  light,  lest  darkness  come  upon 
you  :  for  he  that  walketh  in  darkness  knoweth  not 


338  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

whither  he  goeth."  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
our  Lord  has  reference,  here,  to  the  words  of  Jere- 
miah, in  the  13th  chapter  of  his  Prophecy,  verses  15 
and  16.  With  the  words  of  our  Lord  may  also  be 
connected  the  utterances  of  St.  John  in  his  first 
General  Epistle,  concerning -the  same  subject;  and 
where  he  classes  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  as 
children,  respectively,  of  light  and  of  darkness, 
chapter  1 :  5-7,  and  chapter  2:  8-12.  .  So  also,  St. 
Paul  in  1  Thess.  5  :  4-8.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that 
such  contrast  is  a  contrast  not  only  of  character  and 
disposition,  but  also,  and  emphatically  of  a  character 
that  is  self-determined^  as  one  of  their  own  personal 
and  actual  choice. 

In  view,  then,  of  this  rudimentary  truth,  as  evi- 
denced in  Holy  Scripture,  and  in  the  experience  of 
daily  life,  we  may  draw  a  probable  and  just  infer- 
ence in  regard  to  God's  moral  government,  as  re- 
lated thereto.  By  this  fact  we  may  consider  that, 
not  only  is  His  supreme  wisdom,  as  moral  governor, 
so  declared  and  manifested  in  regard  to  the  gradu- 
ation of  religious  light  and  opportunity  in  the 
world,  and  in  the  withholding  of  the  major,  or  maxi- 
mum degree  from  so  large  a  portion  of  the  human 
family ;  because  we  may  reasonably  infer  that,  in 
view  of  all  the  facts,  it  may,  actually,  and  as  seen  by 
Him  who  alone  is  competent  to  judge,  be  known  to 
be  a  merciful,  as  well  as  a  just  disposal,  as  it  stands 
related  to  the  necessarily  free,  and  responsible  action 
of  moral  agents  ;  in  which,  as  the  basis  of  moral 


APPENDIX  339 

trial,  their  free-agency  must  be  a  controlling 
factor. 

What  we  may,  and  should,  properly,  emphasize 
and  magnify,  as  to  its  character  and  degree,  is  the 
fact  of  man's  radical  "alienation  from  the  life  of 
God"  (Eph.  4:  18),  as  a  fallen  being,  and  a  sinner. 

This,  also,  we  may  with  absolute  confidence 
affirm  to  be  true :  i.  e.,  None  ever  sought  God  sin- 
cerely, and  with  their  whole  heart,  and  sought  Him. 
in  vain. 


Note  D 

The  Will  as  Belated  to  the  Conscience 

But,  it  is  desirable  to  trace  more  particularly  the 
connection  between  conscience  and  the  determina- 
tive faculty,  or  will.  Conscience  is  termed,  by  our 
Lord  Himself,  the  eye  of  the  soul.  Not  in  an  ab- 
stract, or  general  sense,  but,  with  reference  to  the 
individual. 

We  have  seen  that  the  faculty  of  reason,  and  un- 
derstanding is  peculiar  to  man,  as  the  law  of  his 
being,  ontologically  considered  ;  as  well  as  the  law 
given  him  of  God  for  the  governance  of  his  life. 
The  ontological  faculty  of  reason  and  understanding 
is  brought  to  bear  upon  various  objects ;  that  is  to 
say  upon  both  material  objects,  and  upon  moral  evi- 
dences, considered  in  themselves,  and  as  related  to 
God,    as    Creator   and   Governor.     It  is   with   the 


340  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

moral  evidences  that  we  are,  here,  concerned. 
Moral  evidences  are  present  and  available,  to  all 
men ;  although  in  different  degrees.  That  this 
proposition  is  true,  has,  I  think,  been  hereinbefore 
demonstrated.  The  individual  has  a  responsibility 
in  regard  to  such  available  knowledge  of  moral 
truth.  The  requisite  and  responsible  knowledge  is 
elementary  and  simple  in  character,  as  that  which  is 
necessary  to  regulate  conduct,  and  to  mould  char- 
acter. It  has  been  tersely,  and  fittingly  described 
as  "  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and  the  good  !  "  As  re- 
lated to  the  conscience,  it  is  defined  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, as  "  the  thing  that  is  right "  (Ps.  37 :  37, 
Prayer-book  version). 

The  discriminative  faculty  of  the  soul,  appealed 
to  by  Theistic  evidences  of  God,  and  of  moral  truth 
is  not  simply  a  critical,  or  intellectual  faculty  ;  it  is 
correlated  to  another  quality,  or  faculty  that  is 
capacitated  to  love,  or  to  hate,  as  related  to  God, 
and  to  moral  objects.  These  as  moral  qualities 
of  the  soul  perform,  each,  their  several  functions  in 
relation  to  such  objects,  so  presented  in  evidence ; 
yet,  the  action  of  one  moral  quality  is  reciprocated 
and  influenced  by  that  of  the  other. 

So  the  terms  Eight,  and  Wrong,  as  moral  terms, 
represent  the  moral  discrimination  exercised,  not 
only  in  regard  to  the  true  and  the  false,  but  also  in 
regard  to  the  good,  and  to  the  evil,  morally  con- 
sidered. 

That  is    to   say,    what    right    reason    regards  as 


APPENDIX  341 

morally  true,  and  what  right  moral  affection  holds 
to  be  worthy  of  the  soul's  desire,  and  delight.  The 
same  applies  in  regard  to  the  terms  good,  and  evil. 
Moral  truth  and  moral  goodness  are  not  separable 
qualities  either  in  themselves  considered,  or  as  re- 
lated to  their  Divine  source  and  original :  that  is, 
to  God  Himself,  as  the  perfect  good.  Yet,  there  is 
a  direct  appeal,  by  objective  evidence,  to  that 
faculty  of  the  soul  which  discriminates  between  the 
true,  and  the  false,  morally  considered  ;  and  we 
have  seen  that  such  objective  evidence,  under 
natural  law  presented  to  such  faculty,  is  adequate 
to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  God  from  man, 
under  a  just,  and  a  beneficent  moral  government. 
In  considering  the  relation  of  such  objective  evi- 
dence to  that  faculty  which  discriminates,  especially 
between  what  is  morally  good,  and  what  is  morally 
bad,  we  have  to  take  into  account  the  fact  (which 
applies  to  all  the  moral  faculties  of  the  soul),  that 
man  has  lost  that  equilibrium  which  he  once  pos- 
sessed. He  is  born  into  the  world  with  a  bias  of 
his  nature,  and  specially  of  his  moral  affections  to- 
wards that  which  is  intrinsically  evil ;  "  the  law  of 
sin  "  has  prevalence  in  his  moral  nature.  But,  not- 
withstanding this  fact,  as  God  has  in  no  case  left 
him  without  available  knowledge  of  truth  and  of 
right,  so  He  has  not  left  him  without  available 
help,  to  counteract  "  the  law  of  sin." 

As    he    needs    supernatural    help,    under    moral 
trial,  so  God  does,  in  no  case,  leave  him  absolutely 


312  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

unaided,  and  at  the  mercy  of  that  affection,  or  pre- 
disposition to  evil  which  he  inherits. 

"  Even  a  child  is  known  by  his  doings,  whether 
they  be  pure,  and  whether  they  be  right"  (Prov. 
20 :  11). 

The  malignant  character  of  indwelling  sin,  as  a 
fact,  is  not  to  be  minimized  ;  but,  it  is  also  a  fact  in 
the  consciousness  of  every  person,  that  the  growth, 
and  development  of  such  moral  affection,  as  it  is 
alienated  from  God,  is  something  for  which  he  is 
individually,  and  personally  responsible.  If  he  is 
progressively  developing,  by  habit,  his  inherited 
tendency  to  evil,  it  is  because  he  has  not  listened  to, 
nor  obeyed  the  voice  of  conscience  ;  nor  sought 
help  and  assistance  from  God  in  prayer,  to  counter- 
act such  evil  tendency  of  his  nature  by  a  Divine 
and  supernatural  work  upon  his  soul,  which  he 
might  know  that  he  needed,  and  that  God  was 
ready  to  give.  No  person  becomes  or  can  become 
a  confirmed  evil  character  at  once.  All  his  moral 
nature  is  under  trial.  This  trial  terminates  on  the 
choosing  faculty,  or  will  ;  but,  before  such  deter- 
minate act,  or  series  of  acts  takes  place,  conscience, 
as  "  the  eye  "  of  the  soul,  the  stivers'  and  ^vec^?:?, 
not  only  instructs,  but  entreats  ;  approves,  or  dis- 
approves according  to  such  purpose,  and  determi- 
nate action  matured  in  the  soul.  So,  the  individual 
character  is  determined  by  moral  law.  The  power 
to  know,  the  power  to  love,  the  power  to  choose, 
and  the  power  to  do,  is  not,  indeed,  inherent ;  but, 


APPENDIX  343 

it  is  available,  and  so  the  ego,  as  a  self-conscious 
personality,  is  the  subject  of  a  just  judgment.  If 
man  is  ignorant  it  is  chargeable  upon  all  his  moral 
nature  ;  if  he  loves  the  evil,  he  is  conscious  that  he 
might  do  otherwise  ;  if  he  definitely  chooses,  pur- 
poses, and  practices  what  he  knows  to  be  wrong, 
although  culpability  rests  upon,  and  is  participated 
in  by  all  the  moral  faculties,  that  culpability  is 
specially  chargeable  upon  him  as  a  voluntary  agent. 
The  power  of  choosing,  and  of  refusing,  of  purpos- 
ing and  determining,  in  view  of  available  evidence, 
although  it  may  be  neglected  or  refused  ;  while 
such  capacity  is  not  inherently,  and  independently 
possessed,  while  it  is  actually  under  a  prevalent 
Mas  to  evil,  and  against  the  good,  is  held  directly 
and  we  may  say  chiefly  responsible,  because  of  the 
special  function  allotted  to  it  of  God  ;  and,  because, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  faculty  of  knowledge,  and  of 
love,  such  adequate,  and  supernatural,  and  extra- 
neous assistances  were,  to  him,  consciously  available 
in  God  ;  who,  from  His  character  as  the  good,  "  will 
not  suffer  man  to  be  tempted  above  that  he  is  able, 
but  will,  with  the  temptation  make,  also,  a  way  of 
escape,  that  he  may  be  able  to  bear  it ; "  and,  also^ 
He  is  faithful  to  do  so. 

It  is  also  to  be  considered  that  God  has  provided 
both  without  and  within  man,  for  an  appeal,  not 
merely  to  the  intellectual  and  rational  faculty  of  the 
soul,  but  to  the  moral  power  of  loving  what  the  in- 
tellectual  faculty,  as  an  integral  part  of  his  moral 


344  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

nature  shows  him  to  be  worthy  of  his  supreme  af- 
fection, as  it  is  both  Right  and  Good.  Right,  in  it- 
self considered,  as  it  is  conformable  to  the  sense  of 
duty  which  he  is  conscious  that  he  owes  to  God  ; 
and  good  also,  in  itself  considered,  because  of  the 
love  and  beneficence  manifested,  both  in  the  law, 
and  in  the  lawgiver.  I  am  here  dealing  particu- 
larly with  natural  law,  so  I  do  not  refer  to  the  rev- 
elations of  the  law-supernatural,  further  than  to  no- 
tice that  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  our  Divine 
Lord  in  inculcating  the  law  of  love  and  beneficence 
to  our  fellow-men  enforces  it  by  such  a  display  of 
God's  beneficence  as  is  evidenced  in  the  economy  of 
natural  law,  and  of  providential  government. 

"  That  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father 
that  is  in  heaven ;  for  He  causeth  His  sun  to  shine 
on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on 
the  just  and  on  the  unjust "  (Matthew  5  :  45).  But, 
while  each  appeal  to  one  moral  faculty  of  our  na- 
ture is  reciprocated  by  and  is  correlatively  addressed 
to  all  those  faculties,  the  determinating  point  which 
characterizes  the  individual  ego  is  reached  and  de- 
fined in  the  repeated  acts  and  habit  of  the  ivill ;  by 
which  action  is  determined, purpose  is  directed,  and, 
so,  character  is  formed. 

The  affections  are  appealed  to  through  the  ra- 
tional nature,  and,  so,  action  of  the  whole  man, — 
body  and  soul, — is  solicited.  The  will  is — there- 
fore,— governed  by  the  object  predominating  in  the 
affections  of  the  soul ;  but  the  whole  moral  nature 


APPENDIX  345 

as  represented  by  the  conscience  of  the  individual 
man,  or  woman,  is  held  responsible. 

Therefore,  we  say  that, — ultimately, — the  will  is 
the  ego  :  "  I,  myself." 

It  fixes  responsibility,  and  stamps  character;  and 
all  experience,  facts,  and  history  go  to  shew  that 
man,  as  a  transgressor,  against  God,  in  all  times,  in 
all  places,  does  not  actually  disobey  God  and  good 
as  His  declared  law,  because  he  is  unable  to  discrim- 
inate between  right  and  wrong,  good  and  evil ; 
nor  because  he  is  not  conscious  of  the  intrinsic 
amiability  and  excellency  of  the  good  to  which  he 
is  solicited  to  yield  himself ;  but,  as  a  transgressor, 
he  does  so  transgress,  not  only  voluntarily,  but  wil- 
fully and  wickedly. 

His  whole  moral  nature,  and  physical  energies 
are,  in  fact,  yielded  to  it? 

1  The  determinative  power  of  the  will  is  constantly  appealed  to, 
both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  j  and  it  is  often  implied  when 
not  expressed.  I  shall  but  quote  one  passage,  and  from  the  New 
Testament.  After  referring  to  those  on  whom  the  tower,  in  Siloam 
fell  and  slew  them,  and  to  the  Galileans,  whose  blood  Pilate  had 
mingled  with  their  sacrifices,  our  Lord  says:  "Think  ye  that  they 
were  sinners  above  all  that  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  ?  I  tell  you,  Nay  ; 
but  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all,— likewise,  perish."  The  refer- 
ence, here,  is  clearly,  to  the  determinative,  or  choosing  faculty,  as 
representing  the  individual  ego,  and,  as  the  ultimate  seat  of  ac- 
countability ;  and,  as  that  responsible  free-agency  is,  so,  recognized 
and  declared  by  our  Lord,  in  this  place,  so,  in  Acts  17  :  30,  St. 
Paul  most  forcibly  asserts  God's  authority. — as  demanding,  and 
justly  demanding  its  rightful  and  proper  exercise, — when  he  says 
that  God  "now  commands  all  men,  everywhere  to  repent," — be- 
cause  of  the   approaching  day  of  judgment,   by  our  Lord  Jesus 


346  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

The  strong  statements  of  Holy  Writ  to  this  effect, 
are  verified  by  the  declared  facts  of  human  expe- 
rience ;  and,  so  are  fully  justified.  To  quote  but 
two  passages,  "Who  rejoice  to  do  evil,  and  delight 
in  the  fro  ward  ness  of  the  wicked  ;  whose  ways  are 
crooked,  and  they  fro  ward  in  their  paths  "  (Prov- 
erbs 2  :  14,  15). 

"Who,  knowing  the  judgment  of  God  that  they 
that  do  such  things  are  worthy  of  death, — not  only 
do  the  same,  but  have  pleasure  in  them  that  do 
them  "  (Rom.  1  :  32). 

In  fact  Holy  Scripture  abounds  with  references 
that  declare  not  only  the  wilful  blindness  and  in- 
difference manifested  to  the  will  and  counsel  of 
God,  but  hatred  of  it,  love  of  evil,  and  inveterate 
choice  of  it  at  all  hazards.  Such  are  the  necessary 
fruits  and  operations  of  sin,  and  to  such  a  de- 
veloped habit  and  character  does  sin  inevitably 
tend. 

The  history  of  the  individual  sinner  is  the 
record  of  a  series  of  acts  in  the  secret  chambers 
of  the  soul.  They  are  acts  of  each  of  his  moral 
faculties. 

They  are  reciprocated  by  all.  They  are  negative 
and  positive  acts. 

They   are    progressive   in   habit   and   character. 

Christ.  I  will  but  say  that  the  same  just  and  inexorable  demand 
is  and  has  been  made  no  less  really,  truly,  and  universally,  under 
natural  evidences,  and  natural  law  ;  although  made  more  impera- 
tive by  reason  of  an  increased  measure  of  available  knowledge. 


APPENDIX  347 

They  are  a  continuous  assimilation,  and  identifica- 
tion of  the  soul  with  moral  evil.  Sin  is,  so,  loved 
and  chosen,  rather  than  holiness.  By  continuous 
acts  of  the  will,  sin  is  stamped  upon  the  soul.  Sin 
asserts  its  supremacy  therein,  by  the  determinating 
act  of  the  will,  as  the  responsible  ego.  So,  in  like 
manner,  under  the  moral  law  of  truth  and  grace,  bv 
consideration  of  the  evidence,  a  new  affection  is  pro- 
duced and  a  new  purpose  formed. 

The  several  faculties  of  the  soul,  as  correlated  to 
each  other  in  the  performance  of  their  several  func- 
tions, come  under  its  influence  by  the  power  and 
pervasive  influence  of  God's  Holy  Spirit.  There 
is  an  internal  and  counter  influence,  by  the  law 
of  sin,  "  even  in  them  that  are  regenerate " ; 
but  the  acts  of  faith  and  of  repentance  (fierdvota), 
and  of  love,  are  continuous  and  persistent  in 
character. 

The  soul  in  its  several  moral  qualities  is  pervaded 
by  truth  and  love,  and  the  ego  is  progressively  yet 
definitely  identified  with  moral  good,  and  affiliated 
with  God. 

Each  prevalent  affection,  and  aspiration  of  the 
soul,  as  regarded  in  the  aggregate  character  of  the 
life,  and  measured  by  its  dominating  characteristic 
is  towards  God  and  goodness. 

" Nearer  my  God  to  Thee,  nearer  to  Thee"  is  the 
key-note.  "  O,  God,  Thou  art  my  God  ;  early  will 
I  seek  Thee." 

So,  "  The  Way  of  Life  is  an  ascension  to  the  wise, 


348  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL   LAW 

that  he  may  depart  from  hell  beneath "  (Pro v. 
15  :  24).  ' 

As  the  motion  of  the  holy  and  renewed  soul  is 
towards  God,  so,  awful  though  it  be,  as  a  fact,  yet,  it 
is  certainly  true  that  the  conscious,  progressive,  and 
determinate  purpose,  affection  and  habit  of  the 
sinner  is  not  only  identifying  him  with  sin,  but  also 
with  Satan.  "This  wisdom  descendeth  not  from 
above,  but  is  earthy,  sensual,  devilish"  (James 
3:15). 

I  pursue  this  no  further,  here,  save  to  remark 
that  our  Lord's  own  utterances  are  very  direct  and 
explicit ;  and  the  severe  words  which  He  used  to 
the  Pharisees  are  fully  applicable  to  all  unconverted 
sinners. 


Note  E 

Br.  Martinean  on  Intuitional  Knowledge  of  God 

The  following  beautiful  passages  from  Dr.  Mar- 
tineau's   "  Study  of   Eeligion "  are  strictly  logical 

1  The  Hebrew  (lemiielah)  means,  literally,  "  for  an  ascension  ;  " 
and  the  word  maelah  is  applied  to  those  Psalms  which  are  called 
"Songs  of  degrees,"  because  (as  Gesenius  concludes)  of  their 
climacteric  character. 

Hence  we  are  directed  to  the  fact  of  a  moral  and  spiritual  eleva- 
tion of  character  as  contrasted  with  that  of  continuously  getting 
lower,  until  it  terminates  in  endless  ruin.  Literally  rendered, 
"The  way  of  life  is  for  an  ascension  to  the  wise,"  i.  e.,  as  to  its 
character,  it  is  so  ordained  of  God;  and,  such  is  its  continuous 
tendency. 


APPENDIX  349 

inferences  from  the  objective  evidence,  and  from 
the  experience  of  conscience,  and  stand  properly 
connected  with  the  latter  topic. 

"In  other  words,  the  moral  law  first  reaches 
its  integral  meaning  when  seen  as  impersonated  in 
a  Perfect  Mind,  which  communicates  it  to  us,  and 
lends  it  power  over  our  affections  sufficient  to  draw 
us  into  Divine  communion.  How  else  could  it 
transcend  our  whole  personality  as  it  does,  and 
haunt  us  with  tones  from  beyond  and  above  ?  If 
our  humanity  were  at  the  summit,  and  in  passing 
further,  we  emerged  into  blank  silence,  how  could 
these  subduing  voices  flow  thence  upon  the  heart? 
They  attest  a  speaking  nature  there  that  bids  us 
feel  as  it  feels,  and  become  the  organ  of  its  thought ; 
a  nature  that  appealing  to  us  from  a  superhuman 
height,  cannot  be  less  than  a  conscious  will,  but 
simply  a  personal  and  holy  Mind ;  and  that  report- 
ing to  us  a  Law  which  holds  for  all  thinking  and 
voluntary  beings,  is  universal  and  supreme.  Here, 
at  last,  and  here  alone  does  the  objective  authority 
of  what  the  universal  conscience  tells,  find  its  ex- 
planation, and  its  home;  and  hither,  it  is  that  we 
are  brought,  in  proportion  as  our  self-knowledge  is 
deep,  and  our  moral  ideal  is  lofty  and  complete. 
I  care  not  whether  this  be  called  an  immediate 
vision  of  God  in  the  experiences  of  conscience ;  or 
whether  it  be  taken  as  an  inference  from  the  data 
they  supply.  It  is  the  truth  contained  in  them  : 
with  one  man  it  may  be  only  implicitly  felt  in  their 


350  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

solemn  and  mystic  character;  with  another,  ex- 
plicitly and  immediately  seen  emerging  from  them 
as  they  come,  and  making  him  the  Seer  of  God 
rather  than  a  reasoner  about  Him.  In  any  case, 
the  constitution  of  our  moral  nature  is  unintelligi- 
ble, except  as  living  in  response  to  an  objective 
perfection,  pervading  the  universe  with  holy  Law." 


Note  F 


Force  of  Intuitional  and  Moral  Evidence,  as  Stated 
by  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

The  important  utterance  of  our  Lord  in  Luke  12  : 
54-58,  before  quoted,  requires  further  considera- 
tion, as  it  stands  related  to  Natural  Religion,  and 
the  Law  of  Conscience. 

It  may,  I  believe,  be  said  to  convey  authorita- 
tive declaration  of  the  sufficiency  of  Theistic 
evidence  under  natural  law,  in  all  that  is  essential 
to  human  responsibility. 

The  argument  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  man, 
by  his  experience  of  the  sequences  of  physical  law 
is  competent,  by  such  evidence,  to  acquire  the 
knowledge  of  a  Supreme  First-Cause,  as  Lawgiver, 
in  regard  to  such  sequences.  Upon  this  basis  our 
Lord  proceeds  further  to  assert  His  capability  of 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  His  moral  government, 
in  the  promulgation  and  dispensation  of  moral  and 
spiritual  truth. 


APPENDIX  35  L 

The  reference  already  made  to  the  phrases, 
"this  way,"  "this  time,"  "this  life,"  and  "this 
name,"  will  sufficiently  illustrate  and  make  clear 
the  scope  and  purport  of  our  Lord's  teaching  in  this 
place.  The  first  question  put  to  their  moral  con- 
sciousness of  law  and  accountability  is,  "  Hoic  is 
it  that  ye  do  not  discern  this  time  f  "  Notice,  also 
His  scathing  words,  that  precede  the  question,  "  Ye 
hypocrites ! "  So  much,  then,  for  the  objective 
evidence  for  God  in  Natural  Theology. 

His  second  question  follows  as  the  climax  and 
logical  sequence  of  the  former  ;  "  Yea,  and  why,  even 
of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  ichat  is  Right?  " 

The  reference,  here,  is  to  the  argument  not  alone 
from  conscience,  but  from  the  whole  of  man's 
moral  faculties.  It  may  properly  be  considered 
that  our  Lord  herein  teaches  that  even  without 
reference  to  objective  evidence,  relatively,  if  not 
absolutely;  by  reason  of  his  intellectual,  and 
moral  nature,  as  constituted  of  God,  man  has 
necessary  and  ontological  capacity,  by  which  he 
may  discern  Eight  from  Wrong,  as  he  is  under 
accountability,  as  a  moral  agent. 

More  than  this:  our  Lord's  teaching  places  be- 
fore us  the  fact  that  the  ultimate  issue  in  the 
moral  trial  of  man,  as  he  is  a  responsible  being,  and 
a  free  agent,  is  self-determined.  Analysis  of  this 
weighty  utterance  goes  to  show  that  while  God 
has  never  left  Himself  without  witness,  in  some 
measure  of  objective  truth,  and  testimony  ;  yet,  the 


352  THEISM   UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

responsible  attitude  of  man's  personality,  in  rela- 
tion to  Him,  as  Judge  and  Lawgiver, — and  the 
character  that  is  to  determine  his  future  in  another 
world  does  not,  by  any  means,  depend  upon  the 
degree  of  that  evidence. 

Still  more  distinctly  is  it  in  evidence  that  it  is 
not  determined  by  the  degree  of  intellectual 
development,  that  mental  culture,  and  external 
aids  and  advantages  may  procure;  and,  if  man's 
moral  trial  and  maturity  of  character  is  not  effected, 
absolutely,  without  objective  evidences  of  Theistic 
truth,  even  in  nature;  that  the  effectual  and 
cooperative  witness  of  a  light  within  the  soul,  is  the 
ultimate  force,  in  and  by  which  God's  action  as  a 
moral  governor  will,  in  the  great  Future,  be  both 
declared,  and  justified. 


Note  G 


Heathen  Ignorance,  its  Cause  and  Character 

As  every  Theological  principle  must  have  its 
own  corresponding  effect  upon  the  practical  work 
of  the  Church,  as  it  has  upon  individual  religious 
life,  and  what  is  to  be  set  forth  as  individual  and 
Christian  duty  ;'so  of  this  particular  subject.  It  is 
therefore  desirable  to  give  it  some  special  considera- 
tion. 

As  cosmical  Evolution  excludes  a  personal 
Creator,  and  dismisses  the  Bible  story  of  Creation, 


APPENDIX  353 


and  of  the  Fall,  as  a  myth,  and  denies  it  to  be 
History,  or  the  Divine  and  authoritative  statement 
of  fact,  and  of  elementary  truth  ;  so  do  Evolutionists 
deny  the  elementary  doctrine  of  Original  Sin.  So 
does  Dr.  Lyman  Abbot.  We  can  understand  how 
necessary  it  is  to  the  coherence  of  their  hypothesis, 
for  Evolutionists  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  Original 
Sin  ;  it  does  but  indicate,  from  this  standpoint,  how 
radically,  and  diametrically  that  hypothesis  is  op- 
posed to  Bible  truth.  Original  Sin,  as  the  result  of 
Adam's  fall,  is  the  foundation  truth  of  Biblical 
Theology,  and  of  Biblical  Religion.  Historical, 
Doctrinal,  Practical,  and  Experimental  Religion 
are  bound  up  with  it.  It  is  homogeneous  with  the 
whole  facts,  and  character  of  both  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments. 

Moreover,  the  doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture,  as 
built  upon  the  Fall  of  Man,  is  the  only  sufficient 
and  satisfactory  solution  of  all  the  present  evils, 
physical  and  moral,  bearing  sway  in  the  World. 
Although  Bishop  Gore  treats  the  story  of  the 
Temptation,  in  Eden,  and  the  Fall,  as  myth,  and 
not  History,  yet,  Mr.  Illingworth  and  other 
Essayists,  in  "  Lux  Mundi,1'  fully  admit  the  ex- 
istence, operation,  and  power  of  sin,  as  a  chief 
factor  in  human  life,  "apart  from  the  question  of 
its  origin." 

Dr.  Lyman  Abbot  speaks  of  the  "gradual 
growth  of  the  spiritual  life  within,  until  an  almost 
absolute  perfection  shall  have  been  attained !  " 


354  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

He  puts  this  principle  in  antithesis  with  the 
Bible  doctrine  of  inherent  depravity,  and  denies  the 
character,  and  cause  of  sin,  as  set  forth  in  Holy 
Scripture,  and,  so,  its  restdts,  as  a  religious  princi- 
ple, upon  the  life.  That  is  to  say,  he  squares  his 
teaching  (logically)  with  the  Evolutionary  hy- 
pothesis. 

Mr.  Scott  Holland  says  that  faith  (and,  so,  relig- 
ious character),  is,  "  by  conscious  receptivity,  capa- 
ble of  an  evolution  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  fix 
a  limit/"  ("Lux  Mundi,"  p.  14).  Upon  the  hy- 
pothesis of  Evolution  concerning  Man,  as  an  "  as- 
cent from  the  animals,"  the  degree  of  his  knowl- 
edge,— in  primitive,  and  ante  diluvial  times,  is  re- 
quired to  be  of  a  very  low  order.  Hence,  too,  it  is 
requisite  to  the  coherence  of  their  theory,  that 
Theistic  evidences  under  Natural  Law,  must  have 
been  (hypothetically),  of  an  uncertain  character. 
Further,  as  a  consequence,  the  ignorance  of  the 
Heathen,  from  the  days  of  Seth  downwards,  must 
be  put  upon  very  different  grounds,  by  the  The- 
ology of  Evolution,  and  by  the  principles  and  facts 
of  Biblical  Theism,  respectively  considered.  I 
would  notice  the  fact  that,  in  the  Theodicy  of  "  Lux 
Mundi,"  the  Essay  by  Dr.  Talbot,  on  "  Preparation 
in  History  for  Christ,"  is  not  only  coherent  with 
the  denial  made  by  other  Essayists  of  the  Bible 
doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  but  it  is,  also,  coherent 
with  Universalism,  i.  en  Universal  Salvation. 

In  prosecuting  the  enquiry  as  to  the  cause  and 


APPENDIX  355 

character  of  heathen  ignorance,  we  may  treat  it  as 
an  abstract  question,  from  the  standpoint  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  but,  the  final  solution  rests  with  the  his- 
torical, and  doctrinal  teaching  of  our  only  final  and 
absolute  authority,  viz.,  God's  Word,  written. 

I  will,  therefore,  first  remark  that  there  is  a 
popular  misconception  as  to  heathen  ignorance 
which  is  of  long  standing,  but  which  may  now  be 
said  to  belong  to  the  past.  This  principle  has  ob- 
tained currency,  largely  in  consequence  of  exagger- 
ated statements  on  missionary  platforms  as  to  the 
hopelessness  of  the  condition  of  heathendom,  with- 
out the  Word  of  God.  Traced  to  its  origin,  it  must 
be  found  in  a  loose  and  careless  Theology ;  and  it 
L,  actually,  based  upon  a  false  assumption  that  no 
degree  of  knowledge  of  God  was  possible,  from 
Natural  evidences.  This,  by  implication,  ignores, 
or  depreciates  the  value  of  Natural  Theology  and 
Natural  Eeligion. 

The  comparative  study  of  non-Biblical  religious 
systems,  as  a  factor  in  solution  of  this  question, 
may  lead  to  one  of  two  inferences ; — and  to  dia- 
metrically opposite  results. 

The  Theology  that  is  based  upon  Cosmical  Evo- 
lution and  set  forth  by  "  Lux  Mundi  "  is  disposed 
to  give  a  value  to  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  of  a 
character  like  unto,  if  not  identical  with  our  Sacred 
Scriptures. 

This  is  a  necessary  sequence  from  the  premises  of 
Evolution.     These  premises,  if  true,  must  actually 


356  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

abolish,  or  deny  the  fact  and  value  of  Theistic  evi- 
dences in  Nature,  and  also  antagonize  the  necessary 
character  of  the  revelation  given  to  us  in  the  Bible ; 
I  mean  the  supernatural  element, — and,  so,  abolish 
its  authority  as  a  final  revelation,  and  inspired  of  God. 

But, — another  inference  may  be  drawn  from 
essentially  different  premises. 

These  premises  are,  the  necessary  principle  of 
Theistic  evidences  presented  in  Nature,  and  ac- 
cepted by  man  as  a  fact. 

B}^  giving  to  Natural  Theology,  and  to  Natural 
Keligion  that  place  and  value  which  reason,  and 
the  Word  of  God,  both,  combine  to  justify  and  to 
require,  we  can  see  in  those  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
and  even  in  the  religious  ideas  of  the  lowest  grades 
of  humanity,  some  relies  of  Truth  which  lead  up  to, 
as  they  proceed  from  a  Great  First-Cause. 

The  existing  debasement,  superstition,  and  even 
cruelty  by  which  Heathendom  is  characterized,  is 
thus  traced  to  the  essentially  blinding  and  corrupt- 
ing power  of  Sin, — made  patent  to  Christians  by 
experience,  and  by  the  Word  of  God ;  and  by  the 
fact  of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  mankind  over 
whom,  in  their  characters,  and  lives,  it  has  govern- 
ance and  ascendency. 

This  brings  us  to  the  same  result,  and  to  the 
same  principle  stated  by  Hooker,  and  which  I  have, 
before,  spoken  of.1 

1Id  regard  to  the  accountability  of  mankind  under  the  light  of 
nature, —and  so,  of  heathen  nations,  the  following  words  of  Hooker 


APPENDIX  357 

This  principle  and  inference  has  been  lucidly  pre- 
sented to  us  in  the  admirable  speech  of  Dr.  Macla- 
gan,  the  present  Arch-Bishop  of  York,  at  the  Anni- 
versary of  the  Yen.  S.  P.  G.,  1897,  part  of  which  I 
will  now  quote. 

"There  was  a  time  (and  it  is  certainly  well 
within  my  remembrance),  when  in  missions  to  the 
heathen,  the  earliest  phase  was  commonly  destruc- 
tive in  its  character.  The  missionary  took  his  stand 
in  the  Bazaar,  denounced  the  miserable  follies  of 
heathenism,  or  the  superstitions  of  Mohammedan- 
ism, and  tried  to  clear  the  ground  of  all  those  ob- 
structions and  errors,  before  proceeding  to  the  posi- 
tive  part   of   his    work.     I    believe  that  we  have 

may  here  be  quoted.  After  tracing  the  origin  of  prevalent  blind- 
ness among  the  heathen  as  to  the  elementary  principles  of  "the 
law  moral,"  and  stating  that  such  might  have  been  known  and  un- 
derstood, though  not  without  Divine  help  of  the  natural  law  of  un- 
derstanding, he  goes  on  to  say  that,  men  are  not  only  responsible 
for  ignorance  of  what  may  be  easily  known  as  to  moral  duty. 

Thus,  '•  That  which  we  say  in  this  case  of  idolatry  serveth  for  all 
other  things  wherein  the  like  kind  of  general  blindness  hath  pre- 
vailed against  the  manifest  Laws  of  Reason. 

•'Within  the  compass  of  which  laws  we  do  not  only  comprehend 
whatsoever  may  be  easily  known  to  belong  to  the  duty  of  all  men, 
but  even  whatsoever  may  possibly  be  known  to  be  of  that  quality, 
so  that  the  same  be  by  necessary  consequence  deduced  out  of  clear 
and  manifest  principles  "  (Hooker,  Ecc.  Pol.  Book  II,  chapter  9). 
That  is  to  say  it  is  universally  incumbent  upon  men  to  be  diligent 
seekers  after  such  knowledge  of  God  and  of  duty. 

Man's  responsibility  by  reason  of  a  ivillingness  to  remain  ignorant 
of  God,— or  in  other  words  refusing  to  seek  Himis  beautifully  stated 
by  Dr.  Chalmers,  Nat,  Theol.  Book  1,  chapters  1,  2,  pp.  72,  73. 


358  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

learned  a  better  way.  We  have  come  to  recognize 
more  the  great  principle  that  there  is  no  branch  of 
the  human  family  in  which  God  has  left  Himself, 
altogether  without  witness  ;  that  there  is  no  race  or 
tribe,  however  degraded,  in  which  there  does  not 
still  survive  some  little  fragment  of  Divine  truth ; 
that  the  Church  of  Christ,  although  possessing  that 
truth  in  its  fulness,  has  no  monopoly  of  it,  and  that 
there  are  fragments  of  truth,  scattered  here  and 
there,  even  amongst  the  most  savage  and  de- 
graded nations  of  the  world  ;  and  the  discovery  of 
these  fragments  of  truth  is  the  very  first,  and  the 
greatest  work  for  a  Christian  missionary.  It  is  al- 
ways, as  we  know,  an  easy  thing  to  discover  evil. 
It  is  far  more  difficult,  but  a  far  nobler  thing  to  dis- 
cover good ;  and  the  more  the  condition  of  even  the 
most  degraded  tribes  in  the  world  is  studied,  the 
more  we  shall  find  and  be  surprised,  and  delighted 
to  find  these  little  sparks  of  truth,  still  surviving 
beneath  the  smouldering  heap  of  superstitious  fires. 
Of  late,  a  good  deal  of  attention  has  been  given  to 
what  are  called  the  Sacred  Books  of  India  and 
China.  There,  indeed,  it  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to 
discover  the  survivals  of  noble  truth,  so  easily,  and 
so  much  to  be  admired,  that  some  men  have  been 
content,  or  desirous  almost  to  place  such  books  as 
these  on  a  level  with  our  inspired  Scriptures ;  but 
that  is  to  mistake  altogether  the  meaning  of  the  dis- 
covery they  have  made.  But  it  is  far  more  difficult, 
in  lower  forms  of  senseless  idolatry,  or  of  sensual 


APPENDIX  359 

worship,  to  discover  the  truth  that  lies  hidden 
there.  In  some  of  these,  such  vestiges  of  truth  can 
hardly  be  detected  at  all,  and  men  have  been  so 
bold  as  to  say  that  there  are  none  to  be  found  ;  I 
absolutely  disbelieve  this.  I  believe  that  wherever 
the  image  of  God  survives,  in  any  human  being, 
there  will  be  found  some  little  trace  of  that  image 
in  which  he  is  made,  and  some  fragment  of  the 
truth  which  issues  from  the  God  who  gave  him  his 
being.  And,  I  believe  that  a  very  great  progress 
has  been  made  in  this  direction,  within  the  last  half 
century.  Men  have  come  to  see  the  beauty,  and  to 
recognize  and  enjo}7  the  happiness  of  these  discov- 
eries of  the  truth  (and  I  think  there  are  few  greater 
happinesses  in  the  world),  and  have  built  upon 
them,  however  minute  the  fragment  may  be,  the 
edifice  of  their  mission  work. 

They  have  striven  to  find  some  common  ground, 
however  minute,  with  those  to  whom  they  carry  the 
message  of  the  Gospel ; — some  common  ground, 
however  limited,  upon  which  they  can  stand,  side 
by  side,  with  those  to  whom  they  are  ministering, 
and  from  which  they  may  both  look  upward  to- 
gether to  the  source  of  all  truth,  and  the  source  of 
all  good.  I  believe  that  principles  such  as  these  are 
more  and  more  influencing  the  work  of  Christian 
missions  throughout  the  world,  and  I  feel  assured 
that  just  in  proportion  as  these  principles  prevail, 
not  only  will  our  success  in  the  mere  matter  of 
numerical  increase  be  multiplied,  but  also  the  roots 


360  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

of  the  mission  work  which  we  are  enabled  to  do 
will  be  more  deeply  laid ;  and  it  is  because  of  my 
confidence  in  these  principles  that  I  rejoice  in  what 
appears  to  me  to  be  their  growth."  With  the  fore- 
going utterances  of  the  Archbishop,  both  natural 
and  revealed  religion  and  all  known  facts  in  rela- 
tion thereto  are  in  perfect  accord. 

But,  as  I  said,  the  final  and  authoritative  solution 
of  the  question  must  be  derived  from  the  historical 
facts,  and  doctrinal  teaching  of  God's  Word  writ- 
ten. To  this  I  now  proceed  ;  and  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  the  term  "  ignorance,"  as  here  considered,  is  not 
an  abstract,  but  a  Biblical  phrase,  and  has  reference 
to  God,  and  to  Divine  things.  Viewed  then  in  con- 
nection with  the  historic  facts  and  dogmatic  teach- 
ing of  God's  Holy  Word,  the  entrance  of  sin  into 
the  world,  and  the  Fall  of  our  first  parents  in  Eden 
is  the  direct  cause  of  the  ignorance  of  God,  wher- 
ever it  is  found,  and  wherever  it  is  spoken  of  in 
Bible  history  and  teaching.  This  ignorance  is  a 
moral  quality,  and  relates  to  all  man's  moral  nature, 
as  his  moral  faculties  are  correlated  to  each  other. 
The  immediate  effects  of  the  fall  were  seen  in  Cain's 
fratricide ;  and  it  passed  on,  in  its  effects,  from 
family  to  social  and  national  life  ;  and  in  doing  so 
obtained  cumulative  force.  The  progress  of  sin  is 
epitomized,  when,  before,  the  deluge,  it  is  recorded 
that  "all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the 
earth,"  and  that  "  the  earth  was  corrupt  before  God, 
and  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence;"  also  that 


APPENDIX  361 

"  God  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in 
the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually  " 
(Gen.  6  :  5).  This  is  a  synoptical  description,  upon  a 
Theistic  basis ;  and  upon  the  basis  of  Christian  ex- 
perience we  are  justified  in  saying  that  the  igno- 
rance of  God  existing  amongst  men  in  these  early 
days  of  the  world's  history  was  not  for  want  of 
Theistic  evidence,  but  from  a  depraved  will  and 
affection. 

Such  is  a  just  inference  from  Christian  experience, 
as  well  as  from  the  Mosaic  statement,  and  from  the 
records  of  Sacred  History.  Further  evidence  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  Flood  was  a  judgment 
sent  of  God  upon  wilful  and  aggravated  sin. 

It  is  put  upon  that  basis  by  St.  Peter,  in  his  second 
Epistle.  So,  also,  speaking  of  a  future  and  a  coming 
judgment  upon  the  world,  similar  in  its  character, 
St.  Peter  says  of  the  men  of  the  Christian  era, 
"  This  they  willingly  are  ignorant  of."  This  he  ap- 
plies to  the  facts  of  the  past,  of  the  present,  and  of  a 
declared  future.  As  a  general  principle,  by  all  the 
analogy  of  Holy  Writ,  the  ignorance  which  God 
charges  man  with,  is  a  moral  quality,  as  it  is  a  wil- 
ful choice  of  the  Wrong,  and,  in  presence  of  evi- 
dence of  the  Right.  This  is  the  ground  of  God's 
declared  anger  against  mankind,  as  set  forth  every- 
where in  the  Bible ;  the  reason  for  His  judgments 
upon  the  Ante-Diluvians,  and  upon  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah.  Jeremiah  classes  together  "  The  heathen 


362  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

that  have  not  known  Thee,  and  the  families  that 
call  not  on  Thy  Name  "  (Jer.  10 :  25) ;  and  so  also 
David  classes  together,  in  like  manner  "  The  heathen 
that  know  Thee  not,  and  the  kingdoms  that  call  not 
upon  Thy  Name  "  (Ps.  79  :  6).  In  both  cases  the  just 
and  necessary  inference  is  that  they  might  have 
known  God,  as  that  they  ought  to  have  worshiped 
and  served  Him.  For  the  same  reason,  i.  e.,  a 
refusal  of  light,  and  of  duty,  the  Amorites  were 
cut  off,  as  declared  in  Gen.  15  : 7-17.  They,  too, 
had  "  corrupted  themselves.'*  The  same  rule  ap- 
plies in  God's  recorded  dealings  with  the  Jews.  As 
they  lapsed  into  idolatry,  and  sinned  against  God, 
and  against  light,  God  punished  them. 

Following  Bible  Chronology,  we  may  now  con- 
sider the  phraseology  of  Scripture  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  The  Greek  word  eOvot  is  the  New 
Testament  equivalent  for  the  Hebrew  word  golm,  in 
accordance  writh  the  use  of  the  latter  wrord  by  the 
Jews  to  describe  the  nations  by  whom  they  were 
surrounded.  Abraham  was  chosen  of  God,  and  his 
seed  after  him,  from  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth ;  and  their  separation  was  in  accordance  with 
a  Divine  purpose,  as  well  as  the  subject  of  a  Divine 
command.  We  may  properly  enquire  what  was 
the  purpose  of  the  Most  High  in  so  doing.  Moses 
in  his  song  refers  to  the  "  separation  of  the  sons  of 
Adam,"  and  to  God's  "  dividing  to  them  their  in- 
heritance, according  to  the  number  of  the  children 
(Deut.  32  :  8)  of  Israel  "  (= Jacob).     There  was  a  pur^ 


APPENDIX  363 

pose  of  God  in  both  cases  ;  and  we  gather,  from  the 
scope  of  the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  that 
God's  purpose  in  connection  with  both  the  sons  of 
Adam  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  was  that  of  preserving 
and  also  disseminating  a  correct  knowledge  and  a 
pure  worship  of  the  living  and  true  God  ;  and  that  in 
regard  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  when  God  allotted  to 
them  their  inheritance,  His  purpose  did  not  termi- 
nate in  the  exclusive  welfare  of  the  Jewish  people, 
although  it  conferred  upon  them  peculiar  privileges. 

The  passage  that  I  have  quoted  suggests  the  fact 
that,  as  subjects  of  God's  rule  and  authority,  as 
moral  governor  He  fixed  the  bounds  of  the  several 
nations  of  the  Old  World,  in  view  of  such  moral 
and  responsible  relation  in  which  they  stood  to 
Him.  The  making  known  of  God  as  Creator  and 
Governor  of  the  world,  of  man's  sin,  and  of  God's 
redemption  to  the  world  at  large,  as  a  purpose  of 
God,  is  clearly  set  forth  in  Holy  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament ;  specially  by  the  Prophetical  Books. 

That  the  nations  of  the  world,  generally,  were 
in  a  state  of  ignorance,  i.  e.,  relative  ignorance, 
superinduced  by  the  reign  of  sin,  is  also  a  fact 
recognized  and  declared  ;  but  we  are  by  no  means 
justified  in  concluding  that  it  was  either  a  neces- 
sary, or  an  absolute  ignorance. 

To  establish  such  a  proposition  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  ignore  or  deny  all  primary  Theistic  ele- 
ments, in  nature,  and  in  the  Providence  of  God,  and 
all  revelation  of   Him  under  the  Old  Testament, 


364  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

mediate  or  immediate.  But,  both,  and  all  these 
elements,  as  present  in  evidence  for  God,  as  moral 
Governor  deny  subjective  ignorance  of  Him  to  be 
an  unavoidable  necessity.  Man  has  never  sinned 
against  God,  solely  for  lack  of  knowledge  of  Him. 
The  only  debatable  question  is,  as  to  the  degree  of 
such  knowledge;  and  there  is  ample  reason  to  con- 
clude that  among  primitive  races  of  mankind,  and 
among  non-Christian  nations  of  the  present  day, 
such  knowledge,  or  means  thereof  has  been  and  is 
more  than  is  usually  supposed. 

The  nations  of  Canaan  dispossessed  before  Abra- 
ham were  not  so  dispossessed  of  God  by  an  arbitrary 
exercise  of  His  power  and  will,  but  because  that 
after  a  due  period  of  grace  and  trial,  under  a  meas- 
ure of  light  and  knowledge  sufficient  to  determine 
their  character,  as  free  agents,  He  visited  them  with 
such  exercise  of  His  righteous  authority  over 
them. 

After  much  favor  and  long-suffering,  His  action 
with  the  Jews,  was  of  a  similar  character ;  our 
Lord  warned  them  of  it  when  He  said,  "  The  King- 
dom of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof"  (Matt. 
21 :  43). 

We,  as  Gentiles,  are  given  to  understand  that  His 
action  with  us  will  be  of  a  similar  character.  "  Je- 
rusalem shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles, 
until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  shall  he  fulfilled" 
Again  :  "  Blindness,  in  part,  is  happened  to  Israel 


APPENDIX  865 

until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  is  come  in."  With 
these  established  conclusions,  as  to  the  united  testi- 
mony of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  and  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament ;  from  an  a  posteriori  point  of 
view  we  can  arrive  at  a  sure  and  certain  knowledge 
of  the  cause  of  the  ignorance  spoken  of,  and  as  it  ap- 
plies to  non-Christian,  non-Theistic,  or  Heathen  Na- 
tions. This  is  not  only  the  logical  inference  from  es- 
tablished facts  and  demonstrated  truths,  but  by  posi- 
tive and  dogmatic  statements  of  Holy  Writ,  and  by 
the  incidental  allusions  therein  to  Sacred  History  of 
the  Old  Testament  that  the  result  of  such  moral 
ignorance,  everywhere,  and  at  all  times  is  traced  to 
its  true  cause,  in  the  earliest  history  of  mankind,  as 
given  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  and  as  referred  to  in 
the  inspired  testimony  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  that 
"  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  World,  and  death 
by  sin  ;  and,  so,  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that 
all  have  sinned  "  (Romans  5  :  12).  As  this  truth 
underlies  all  of  the  New  Testament  both  historic- 
ally, doctrinally,  and  practically,  and  unites  it  with 
the  Old  Testament,  by  a  converging  testimony,  it 
makes  the  Bible  to  be,  essentially,  one  Book;  and 
in  its  several  parts,  absolutely  inseparable  from 
each  other.  As  man  may  he,  and  very  many  are 
ignorant  of  God,  although  surrounded  by  available 
light,  in  this  New  Testament  era  ;  as  such  ignorance 
is  either  a  willing  or  a  wilful  ignorance,  now  ;  so 
has  it  ever  been  since  our  first  parents  fell  from  God, 
and  from  holiness. 


366  THEISM  UNDER  NATURAL  LAW 

"  God  hath  made  man  upright ;  but  they  have 
sought  out  many  inventions  "  (Eccles.  7  :  29). 

As  Moses,  in  his  Song,  said  of  Israel,  "They  have 
corrupted  themselves "  (Deut.  32  :  5) ;  so  does  he 
say,  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  chapter  6  :  12,  "  All 
flesh  had  corrupted  his  way  on  the  Earth ; "  and 
(verse  5),  "every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of 
his  heart  was  only  evil  continually."  We  are  justi- 
fied, from  all  the  evidence,  in  saying  that  man  does 
not,  and  that  he  never  did  sin,  simply  from  want  of 
the  means  of  knowledge  of  both  truth  and  duty, 
i.  e.,  from  want  of  essential  knowledge. 

The  darkness  that  now7  does,  and  did  aforetime 
cover  the  Earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people,  is 
due  to  the  nature  and  deadly  character  of  sin,  and 
the  effects  of  the  Fall  of  Adam.  Hence  this  wide- 
spread ignorance  and  the  "  many  inventions  "  which 
Sin  has  produced  and  Satan  has  fostered. 

The  means  of  elementary  knowledge  of  God,  and 
of  Eight ;  what  was  essential  for  man  to  know,  as 
a  responsible  being,  in  order  to  the  formation  of  a 
righteous  character,  here,  and  to  future  salvation, 
hereafter;  this,  God  has,  at  all  times,  secured  to 
him  as  a  responsible  possession. 

If  this  was  essentially  necessary  to  man  as  a 
moral  agent,  and  destined  for  a  future  life,  it  was 
no  less  necessary  to  God,  as  God  and,  as  Moral 
Lawgiver;  and  this,  I  say,  He  has,  always,  fully 
secured. 

When   man   departed    from  God,  in  Eden,  and 


APPENDIX  367 

suffered  the  penalty  of  his  sin  ;  as  He  admonished 
him,  afterwards,  in  the  dispersion,  at  Babel,  and 
still  more  solemnly  by  the  judgment  of  the  Flood ; 
after  the  Flood,  when  He  chose  Abram  and  sepa- 
rated him  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  such  choice 
was  inclusive  of  a  similar  purpose  of  consolidating, 
securing  and  disseminating  throughout  the  World,  to 
all  Nations  of  men  a  sufficient  and  a  culminatory 
degree  of  knowledge  of  Himself:  which  light,  and 
knowledge,  man  when  he  fell  put  from  him  ;  and 
we  are  justified  in  concluding,  from  a  posteriori 
evidence,  that  it  was  because  of  this  rejection,  that 
it  became  a  special  design,  in  the  order  of  God's 
moral  government,  to  set  apart  a  Nation  and  a 
People,  by  whom,  as  depositaries  of  His  revealed 
will,  such  light  and  knowledge  should  be  preserved 
uncorrupted  in  the  Earth  and  should,  also,  by  them 
be,  at  least,  indirectly  disseminated,  as,  from  them 
it  should  be  available,  as  cumulative  evidence  to 
all  who  should  "  diligently  seek  Him." 

I  would  now  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  in 
Scripture  phraseology  the  word  "  Heathen  " l  is  at 

1  It  may  here  be  noticed  that  throughout  the  Book  of  Psalms  the 
phrase  "heathen"  is  used  as  a  convertible  term  with  "the  un- 
godly," or  profane  person,  and  as  descriptive  of  those  who  wilfully 
transgress  against  knowledge  ;  and  also  of  those  who  are  malig- 
nantly disposed  towards  God  and  His  people.  Thus:  "Thou  hast 
rebuked  the  heathen.  Thou  hast  destroyed  the  wieked  or  ungodly. 
Thou  hast  put  out  their  name  forever  and  ever  "  (Ps.  9  5).  With 
this  compare  verses  15,  16,  17, — where  the  parallelism  which  I 
have  referred  to  is  very  marked. 


368  THEISM    UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

least  very  frequently  to  be  regarded  as  a  synonym 
for  a  profane,  or  ungodly  person,  or  for  those  who 
offend  of  "  malicious  wickedness " ;  that  is  to  say 
have  wilfully  departed  from  God. 

A  sufficient  illustration  of  this  may  be  found  in 
the  Book  of  Psalms ;  from  which  I  will  quote  a  few 
passages.  In  Psalms  8  and  9  the  words  "  heathen," 
"  ungodly,"  "  wicked  " — "  man  "  (used  generically, 
referring  to  him  as  fallen  from  God)  and  "  man  of 
the  Earth,"  are  used  as  synonyms.  So  of  Psalms 
10,  11,  and  12,  in  their  general  scope  and  import 
deal  with  the  fact  of  prevalent  ungodliness  as  op- 
posing, and  opposed  to  "  a  remnant "  who  are 
"  witnesses  "  for  God.  There  is  a  clear  inference 
to  be  drawn  from  Psalm  81  :  9.  "  Hear,  O  my 
people,  and  I  will  assure  thee,  O  Israel ;  if  thou 
wilt  hearken  unto  Me,  there  shall  be  no  strange  god 
with  thee,  neither  shalt  thou  worship  any  other 
god." 

The  facts  are  clearly  stated  in  Ezekiel  20 :  32, 
where  he  says  to  the  Jews  "  That  which  cometh 
into  your  minds  shall  not  be  at  all.  We  will  be  as 
the  heathen,  as  the  families  of  the  countries  to  serve 
wood  and  stone." 

In  Jeremiah  44  it  is  recorded  that  they  de- 
fiantly refused  to  obey  God's  answer  to  their  deceit- 

So  of  Psalm  82,  at  large  ;  specially  verse  5,  "They  will  not  be 
learned,  nor  understand,  but  walk  on  still  in  darkness  :  all  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  are  out  of  course." 

Psalm  83  is  similar  in  its  character  and  testimony. 


APPENDIX  369 

ful  inquiry.  For  this  reason,  God  gave  them  up  to 
follow  their  own  imagination,  and  to  be  punished 
accordingly. 

For  a  similar  reason  God  declares  that  He  will 
sit  in  judgment,  finally,  on  the  nations  in  the  Valley 
of  Jehoshaphat,  where  He  will  "  sit  to  judge  the 
heathen  round  about "  (Joel  3  :  12).  St.  Paul  says  in 
Rom.  1 :  12,  that  the  heathen,  at  that  day,  knew 
God,  but  glorified  Him  not,  as  God, — neither  were 
thankful.  Also,  that  they  did  not  like  to  retain 
God  in  their  knowledge ;  therefore,  God  gave  them 
up  to  vile  affections.  Our  Lord's  personal  teaching 
is  similar  in  character.  "  Why  do  ye  not  under- 
stand My  speech  ?  Even  because  ye  cannot  hear 
My  word." 

Again  :  "  I  thank  Thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth,  because  Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto 
babes." 

Amplification  of  these  statements  is  not  necessary. 

There  is  a  cumulative  power  in  Gospel  truth  to 
produce  judicial  blindness  in  those  who  continue  to 
sin  against  it. 

It  is  no  less  certainly  true  that  a  similar  result 
will  ensue  to  those  who,  although  they  are  much 
less  privileged  than  those  to  whom  Christian  light 
is  available, — yet,  either  neglect,  or  refuse  to  follow 
that  lesser  light.  That  God  will  deal  with  men  ac- 
cording to  degrees  of  light,  we  are  not  left  to  infer. 
We  are  plainly  told  so  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


370  THEISM   UNDER   NATURAL   LAW 

We  are  fortified,  from  all  the  facts,  in  saying  that 
God's  moral  government,  and  the  nature  of  moral 
ignorance  of  God  is  one  in  character  in  all  ages,  and 
under  all  circumstances.  Degrees  of  evidence  do 
not  affect  that  character,  nor  do  such  degrees  affect 
the  moral  result.  We  are  justified,  however,  in  be- 
lieving that  native  and  inherent  dislike  of  the  super- 
natural (which  is,  indeed,  dislike  of  the  Divine  char- 
acter), while  always  present  in  fallen  man,  will  and 
does  increase,  under  the  light  of  Christianity,  in  the 
case  of  the  disobedient.  "  There  is  a  woe  pro- 
nounced against  those  who  are  wise  in  their  own 
eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own  sight  "  (Isaiah  5 :  21). 
So,  also,  God  has  declared  that  He  has  "made  foolish 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  "  (1  Cor.  1 :  20).  The 
"  ignorance "  of  the  majority,  not  merely  of  the 
heathen  is  due  to  the  determinate  will  of  the  indi- 
vidual sinner,  to  the  character  of  sin,  itself,  and, 
also,  to  the  cumulative  power  of  sin,  in  communities 
and  nations  of  the  world  ;  but,  such  gathering  of  the 
cumulative  power  of  sin,  is  met  of  God  by  counter 
influences,  as  He  sees  meet;  and  with  special  power 
under  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  the  dispensation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  When  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against 
him  "  (Is.  59  :  19). 


To  be  followed  by 


Theism  Under  Supernatural  Law 


Table  of  Contents 

I.     Sources  of  Sacred  History,  Ante  and  Post  Diluvial. 
II.     The  Office  of  the  Church ;  A  Witness  and  Keeper  of  Holy 
Writ. 
III.     Theism  as  a  Cumulative  Force. 
IV.     Inspiration  as  a  Consolidating  and  Theistic  Force. 
V.     Development  of  the  Supernatural  under  an  Inspired  Law- 
Giver  and  Leader. 
VI.     Personality  and  Authority  of  Moses,  and  His  Relation  to  the 
Pentateuch. 
VII.     Combinations  oi  Theism. 

A.  Objective,  and  as  related  to  the  Books  of  Scripture. 

B.  Subjective  Oneness,  as  the  work  of  one  Holy  Spirit. 
VIII.     Theism  in  its  Developments  as  Related  to  Moral  Accounta- 
bility. 

IX.     Sources   of  Objective    Knowledge    of  God,  as    Related   to 
Philosophy  and  Critical  Science. 
X.     Sources   of   Subjective    Knowledge   of  God,  as  Related  to 
Free-Agency  on  Theistic  Premises. 
XL     Prophets    and     Prophecy    as    Related    to    Christ:      "That 
Prophet !  "     Ministers  of  the  New  Testament  as  Related 
to  Christ. 
XII.     The  Inscrutability  of  God  ;   Limitations  of  Theism.     A.  Ob- 
jective ;   B.   Subjective. 
XIII.     The  Person  and  Prophetic  Office  of  Christ,     (a)  As  Related 
to  His  Divinity  ;  Prophecy  and  History  Unified.     (6)  As 
Related  to   His   Humanity.      I.  A  Perfect,    2.   A  Sinless 
Humanity.     (Y)   Doctrine    of  the   Kenosis.     Perversions 
of  "  Lux  Mundi." 

371 


XIII. 


XIV. 


XV. 
XVI. 


XVII. 


XVIII. 


XIX. 


Note  ((/)  Cumulative  Power  of  Christ's  Testimony  to  Holy 
Scripture. 

i.  From  His  Perfect  Humanity. 

2.  From  His  Prophetic  Office. 

3.  From  the  Hypostatic  Union  of  the  Two  Natures. 
The    Incarnation    as    Related    to   Theism.     Neg.  The  Hy- 
pothesis of  Lux   Mundi,  as  to  the  Incarnation,  as  a  Theo- 
logical   basis.       Pos.    Place  of  the   Incarnation  in   Holy 
Scripture. 

Relation  of  Christ  as  Prophet  to  Holy  Scripture. 

(a)  The  Atonement  as  Related  to  Biblical  Theism.  (b)  The 
Intercession  of  Christ;  Christ  as  High  Priest  and 
Mediator,  (c)  Lux  Mundi  on  the  Atonement.  (</)  The 
Atonement  as  Related  to  Higher  Created  Intelligences. 

The  Miracles  of  Christ  in  their  Relation  to  Christianity,  and 
to  Christian  Theism. 

Christ  as  King,  (a)  The  Kingship  of  Christ,  and  the 
Millennial  Reign.  (6)  Christ  as  Judge  and  Universal 
King. 

The  Law  of  Conscience  as  Related  to  the  Revealed  Super- 
natural and  to  the  Christ  of  History. 


Appendix. 


Flint's  Theism  Examined. 


372 


